Return to Yourself
by BetTheDuckisInTheHat
Summary: Brittany just started her new job as a security guard when she met a mysterious brunette with beautiful eyes. Brittana. T for now.
1. Not Boring After All

"Miss. Miss!"

The annoyed look the old man was giving her as he tried to get her attention brought Brittany out of her boredom induced stupor.

The blonde had just started this new job this very week; she shouldn't be slacking off already. She straightened her back and took the man's company ID and electronic parking permit. He looked impatience so Brittany checked his validation as fast as possible even if there was no other car behind him. She gave him his receipt and documentation back and he quickly took off with an irritated huff. She hoped he wouldn't complain to her superior, Mr. Lynn but the man did look like he was in a hurry so maybe he wouldn't even remember.

This was her third day, and the previous ones had been pretty much the same; Boring. But she couldn't expect more from a parking lot security job.

She had finished college and she had to pay her loans on top of medical bills. Brittany had been struggling trying to find work after she was let go from her last job; where she barely made minimum age. Noah Puckerman, one of her friends, had offered to help her when she could barely make her share of the rent. She reluctantly accepted it; it was better than the alternative to resource to asking money from her father. Noah knew Mr. Lynn's boyfriend or something and had helped Brittany get the security job so she couldn't complain. Though what she really wanted was to apply for the Police Academy. Unfortunately, having turned twenty months ago, still made Brittany too young for it.

One the first day, Mr. Lynn showed her the facilities but only the main lobby of the fancy building and all the parking lot structure; which was surprisingly big for a not-so-tall building, taking up two underground floors. She was starting as a parking lot security guard so it wasn't required of her to know much about the rest of the building since for now, her job consisted only of guarding the parking lot area. Though Mr. Lynn explained he would thoroughly show her every floor of the building in the next couple weeks, because he might need her and ask her to fill in for another security guard at some point in the future. That was the most action she had at her job so far. And she was actually looking forward for when that happened.

The couple days she had worked had proven to uneventful and boring, but it was a fairly easy job. Brittany just needed to monitor the parking lot, do occasional rounds and making sure only authorized people got in and out. Despite there being cameras in each floor, she only had access to a couple of them from her stand, that showed the first underground floor, the outside gate and exit, so she could see the flow of cars.

A good surprise of her new job was the money. It was pretty decent and it would keep her off the streets and Noah off her back. So it would do just fine until she could apply for the Police Academy. Plus it would look good on her resume to work for such a prestigious company.

She still hadn't memorized its name, but she's pretty sure it started with an 'A', and all she really remembered was that the symbol was a golden wolf, or maybe it was a dog. She looked down at the crest in her uniform, and decided it looked more like a wolf.

Brittany checked the clock on the wall and saw it was only 3 pm. She had two more hours before everyone started leaving in masses of cars. Though she did notice, the cars came in waves. There's the one at 5pm then another at 5:30pm and the final one at 6pm. This company was very organized. Though there were always a few cars leaving a bit later, and the cars that stay overnight for whatever reason; her shifts so far had ended at 6:30pm and part of her job was to go check on those cars before she left to make sure only authorized cars stay as well. If there was more, she'll write it down so the next person on shift will deal with.

She thought the company was awfully strict with their rules. She had to remember to ask Puck what they make or even if they make anything. She couldn't ask Mr. Lynn or he might think badly of her.

Brittany didn't have much left to do. She had already done the paperwork for the day, and the list of car was updated. She tapped her pen against the desk, debating if she should go for a round.

She knew the security headquarters upstairs managed all the cameras, and would radio her if they saw anything, but she was still required to do rounds. There really was a high amount of security in this building.

The blonde rested her pen and decided to just get done with her round already. Just as she stood up, her phone rang. The theme of adventure time started playing on old phone. Her roommate's friend sold her for 5 bucks, so how could she refuse? It worked just fine for calls and was better than no phone at all.

"Hello?" Brittany picked up already knowing who it was.

"Brittany! Are you at work? Of course you are." The irritated voice of her roommate, Cassandra filled her ears. Cassandra July, that is. She was an actress that after a short-lived career on Broadway had moved to LA three years ago, to start anew. Brittany became her roommate almost a year ago, but they definitely weren't best friends.

"I won't be back today. Got stuff to do." Before Brittany could really say anything the woman continued. "The landlord said the interphone is broken, so don't bother."

"How am I going to get inside then?" Brittany questioned, she tried keeping the annoyance out of her voice.

"Figure it out. Not my fault you lost your key." Cassandra said, condescendingly.

"Look, I don't have time to go all the way to your workplace just to give you my key." The woman sighed into the phone, trying to defend her actions "Plus, Puck was lounging on our couch when I left this afternoon, maybe he's still there."

"But…" Brittany tried to protest, there was only a slim chance Noah was still at her place after that much time.

"I gotta go. Bye" She hung up and Brittany was left staring at her phone with a frown. Man that sucked. Why did she have to lose her keys this weekend?

The landlord, Mr. Heckles told her that it would take at least five days to get her a new key. And more if they had to change the locks, with an additional of 50 bucks for his troubles; which Brittany didn't have. She assured him, she had lost her keys at home and that wouldn't be necessary.

Even if she still hadn't found it.

She quickly called Puck's number, hopeful that he would still be in her apartment; she really didn't want to have to break in to her own place.

"Hey, B!" he answered cheerfully on the third ring.

"Puck! Are you home?" She asked hopeful.

"Well, if you mean your home, then yes, I am." He said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, thank god." Brittany sighed in relief.

"Wow that's a first. Are you okay, Britt?" He sounded confused, it was probably one of the few times Brittany seemed happy he was lazing around her apartment, especially when she's not there.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said rubbing her face. "It's just Cassandra called. She's not going back today, and I need someone to buzz me in. Oh, and the interphone is broken, so I'll just send a text."

"So I guess I'm staying over today. But damn, she's a bitch." He complained, and Brittany was pretty sure he was munching on something. "She's fine as hell but still a bitch."

"Ew, Puck. Don't remind me of you two." Brittany scrunched her face in disgust.

"Hey, it was a onetime thing. I ain't touching that beehive again." He defended himself but sounded utterly serious at the end.

Brittany tried to hold in her laughter, to no avail and Puck didn't seem to mind as he joined her.

"Thanks Puck." She thanked him after they stopped laughing. She felt a bit bad, thinking he would go to that much trouble and stay at her apartment. Which reminded her.

"Puck, what are you even doing there in the middle of the afternoon? " She blurted it out.

"Oh, I knew it was coming." She could practically see the way he was scoffing and rolling his eyes at the question.

"Noah…" She said in warning, his deflection not helping his case.

"Relax, I have today off. So I'm just chilling." He said, and she could practically hear his smirk. "I brought my X by the way."

Brittany nodded to herself but stopped, narrowing her eyes at his comment even if he couldn't see her. "Were you already planning on staying?"

"Urrrhh. Maybe." He heard the scoff from her and he already knew her next question.

"What is it now?" Brittany knew her friend was up to something. She just hopes it didn't involve her apartment.

"Well, there's this chick…" He started.

"Of Course…" She interrupted him with sarcasm.

"Hey, don't hate on the Puckerman charm." He could imagine Brittany rolling her eyes at him, but ignored. "Anyway, I have a date with this chick."

"Really?" She inquired skeptically.

"Well, yeah. She lives just a few blocks from here, so I thought it would be better to just stop by and do my thing." He said, and upon Brittany's silence he continued. "You know get in, get on and get out."

"You're such a pig, Noah." He was a good friend, and Brittany knew he cared about her, but his womanizing behavior wasn't something she condoned ever since they met in middle school.

"Dun hate it cause it aint'cha."

"Stop trying to sound ghetto, you sound like an ass." She held back her laugh at his ridiculous words to tease him.

"Whatever. Just come home in time for dinner, wifey." He teased back, knowing she hated when he called her that.

"Bye, Puck." She hung up without ceremony. She knew he would be laughing on the other end of the line either way.

Brittany picked up her flashlight and keys. She tightened the belt around her waist and entered the parking lot to start her round. She checked every car on the first floor, checking it off the list for her report as she went. Brittany saw the stairs and the elevator at the back end, and she went for the stairs, getting to the second underground floor and starting her work again.

Despite the very similar layout to the previous floor, this one was not that familiar to her. There were fewer cars in it, and they all looked fancy. She probably couldn't afford any of these cars in her entire life time. But she's grateful to have her trusty 1970 Ford Ranger F-100 that her dad fixed for her otherwise her life would be a lot harder to get around LA.

She checked another car off the list; a beautiful silver Bentley, when she noticed a car that seemed out of place. Beside all the expensive cars, there was a Toyota Avalon; which was a nice car that Brittany also couldn't afford, but it definitely stood out among the others. Taking a closer look, she noticed the windows were tinted. Like a lot, which was odd. She also realized the Avalon was right next to a second elevator, so it was a great parking place. Lucky person.

Brittany finished her list not long after, since there were only a handful of cars on the second floor. She came back to her security cubicle and just waited until her shift was over.

Later, as she stood outside her apartment building, hugging herself as the chilly wind hit her face; it was a cold day for LA and she had forgotten her jacket. She texted Puck to let her in, he buzzed her in seconds later, and she rushed inside grateful for the warmth of the hall. With her duffle bag over her shoulder, she practically ran the two flights of stairs eager to get home.

She was not surprised that the door was already open for her and there was heated chinese take out waiting for her at her kitchen table. Noah Puckerman could be an ass, but he was mostly a loving ass. As the man lounged on the couch, playing his game before his outing, Brittany checked the cabinets' doors, only to find that there was a new box of her favorite cereal, and a few other supplies.

She knew it wasn't Cassandra who bought it; she only ever bought her own food. It must have been Noah. Brittany got tired of telling him not to buy her food some time ago; he just brushed it off saying he ate her food anyway, but she knew he bought way more than what he ate. Brittany also noticed he came over a lot more often when he knew she was having financial problems. He did his lounging and acted like a sexuality active sloth but he was always making excuses to fill her fridge, or cabinet. He even 'accidentally' put credits on her prepaid phone a few times. He was probably the only person Brittany would take this kind of favors from, even if reluctantly.

It was just the way Noah was if he cared about someone; even behind his macho persona. He wasn't close to his real family but he treated Brittany as such. Puckerman was a pilot for private company. This meant he made some decent money, but he traveled a lot. He didn't mind the life style, but he did miss his non-jewish sister, as he called her. So when he was back, he usually spent more time at her place than his; to Cassandra's displeasure.

Brittany's apartment was no hotel; it was just a two bedrooms, one bathroom apartment with a small living room and a tiny kitchen. Yet, she still couldn't believe Puck found her couch or the apartment that comfortable. It was really good couch, but not as good as a real bed. He preferred on it but when Cassandra was bitching he slept at Brittany's on a sleeping bag.

Brittany smiled at her recently filled pantry and moved back to the couch. She ate her chinese food with a Dr Pepper while watching her friend play. By the time he left for his 'date' aka booty call, she was exhausted and head to bed for the night.

She got up before Puck; or even Cassandra got back from god knows where. Today her shift was of 10 hours, so she has to get there earlier and leave later; Mr. Lynn had told her that if she did two days of extended shifts, she could get some extra money and Brittany couldn't pass on that. She spied Puck asleep on the couch, and made him a few waffles for when he wakes up. He bought the supplies, so the least she could do was cook him something.

The drive had far less traffic at this hour so it didn't take long before she was already clocking in at her workplace.

As Brittany left the Employers locker where she left her duffle bag and changed clothes. The receptionist greeted her; they are practically the only people there. Aside from the janitor.

They hadn't interacted much since Brittany started but the brunette seemed really nice. Brittany smiled and greeted her back. The blonde was heading for the station at the parking lot while she scrunched up her face trying to remember the woman's name. Was it Matilda? Maybe Marlene…

She shrugged it off when she got to her cubicle. Brittany wasn't the best remembering everyone's name; she had already forgotten Mr. Lynn's first name to be honest. She checked the mess of paperwork the night guard shift left and she sighed. This guy was worst then her, and she had only just started. She read the name "Hudson, F" on the file, she hadn't met him yet, but she already disliked his sloppiness.

She stretched her back with a groan and went for a round, to check on the overnight vehicles. The parking lot was practically empty this early. Only three cars at the first floor.

When she gets to the second pavement, she noticed the Avalon from yesterday was already there. Only five cars stayed the night, she checked the list in her hand, and the Avalon wasn't one of them. That's really early for a car. She wonders whose it belongs to.

Putting her curiosity aside, Brittany finished her round and went back to her station.

Nothing much happened in her morning after the morning rush, where the workers came in waves just like in the evening. The cars were all secure and there wasn't much else to do. Brittany seriously considered brining in a deck of cards, but maybe that's unprofessional since she just started. She should be observing and reporting, keeping the parking lot safe. Even if there wasn't much to observe. Or report for that matter.

At lunch, she decided to just stay in her post. The few people that leave the building at this hour, had already left anyway. Mr. Lynn had told her, the building had a floor with a few shops where the employees could buy their food or anything they need. Brittany went there on her second day, but everyone looked really fancy and she felt a bit out of place. Not to mention, the food looked way too expensive for her.

After that, she started bringing her own lunch. Brittany had made two peanut butter sandwiches before she left and was now munching on one as she waited for the hours to tick by.

She saw movement in one of the cameras and it pick up her interest. She noticed the car from this morning approaching coming up the ramp. And she realized this would be the first time the shiny black Avalon would actually go through her.

The car came to a stop right at her station's window. The driver rolled the tinted window down and Brittany's breathing nearly stopped.

The most beautiful girl came into view. Her eyes were dark and expressive. Her dark hair tied in a neat pony perfectly displayed her beautiful face. Her cheek bones defined and full. She was barely wearing make-up, which surprisingly made her seem even more beautiful.

Brittany just stared dumbly at the woman.

The woman intriguingly stared back for a while. That is, she decided to end the silence.

"Hey." It's not stern or rude as any other driver had treated Brittany in the past days when she took too long. It was soft, her voice raspy but light.

"Hi." Brittany mumbled back blushing furiously at her inability to function.

The woman grinned; her smile making her even more beautiful if that was possible. Probably realizing Brittany wouldn't say anything else. She extended her hand giving Brittany her ID and parking permit.

Brittany stared at the hand for a minute before remembering what her job was. She tried to ignore as her face heated up even more.

She wanted to talk to the woman, to hear more of that beautiful voice. But nothing came to the blonde's mind.

"What's your name?" Brittany blurted out. She wanted to kick herself for sounding so lame.

The woman really had the most beautiful laugh, Brittany realized as the brunette gave a light laugh. She didn't seem to be making fun of Brittany for whatever reason. She just seemed amused, as she held her smile firmly in place. She seemed surprised at her own reaction. Brittany got the impression, she didn't smile very often.

"It's Santana." She looked straight into Brittany's eyes and the blonde's heart sped up so fast, she could barely stutter out a reply.

"I'm Brittany."

"I know." She said, her smile gentle. Brittany just looked puzzled, and Santana pointed to the blonde's chest where her ID was displaying her name. Brittany could slap herself. She checked the woman's validation, she realized why the woman looked amused at her question; the ID card she was given also displayed the woman's name: Santana Lopez.

Brittany felt hot embarrassment creeping onto her. She was never so out of it in her life.

Santana still seemed amused, as the blonde handed her documents back. She muttered a quiet thank you. Their hands lingering perhaps longer than needed in the exchange.

Brittany wished her a good day, and just like that the woman was out of her life. Or so she thought.

It slipped Brittany's mind that Santana would have to come back, so in less than 20 minutes; even before the usual people got back from their lunch hour, there it was the car again. The window rolled down again, and there it was Miss Santana Lopez already smiling at her. She had such a pretty smile, her full cheeks had cute dimples on them that popped out brightening up her face.

Brittany just clocked her Santana's car in; she really wanted to ask her something but again, she found herself tongued tied. The brunette seemed to be in a hurry though, so maybe it was for the best. Despite her haste, Santana wasn't rude to Brittany in any moment. She gave the blonde a nod before driving back to her spot on the second pavement.

The afternoon was uneventful especially comparing to the excitement Brittany felt at meeting Miss Santana. And also considering the lack of Santana in the afternoon. The mysterious brunette wasn't just beautiful. There was just something about her eyes. They were deep and dark. There was so much behind those eyes. Something in her made Brittany want to get to know her. And the blonde just couldn't explain it.

After the evening rush with the masses of cars leaving, Brittany sighed as she sat more comfortably in her chair. Since her shifted ended later today, she had brought a candy bar to hold her until dinner. She was chewing on the crunchy treat while staring into space when movement caught her eye again. And Brittany noticed with excitement the black Avalon making its way to her station.

She glanced at the clock near her desk table and saw it was 7:08, later than her usual shift. Brittany figured that's why she hadn't seen Miss Santana until today.

Brittany searched her brain for anything she could ask the woman. She really wanted not to be so lame and be actually capable of small talk.

The car pulled up, and Santana was already there staring up at Brittany.

"Hey." She whispers, smile tugging at her lips.

"Hi." Brittany dumbly replied once again.

She took the document for a second time today, and scolding herself for not coming up with anything better.

"Long day?" She tried the first thing that came to her mind.

"Something like that." Santana dropped her gaze as she sighed. And Brittany just wanted to sit beside her and watch her talk for the rest of the day. She must have gotten distracted in her staring because before she knew it, Santana was speaking again.

"Nice watch." She grinned, eyeing the robot watch on the blonde's wrist as it peaked out of her uniform.

Brittany's face heated up, she resented her lack of memory for forgetting to take off her watch for work; the robot shaped watch was a birthday present from her dad, and secretly her favorite. She's almost sure she nodded to Santana but the blonde was too busy blushing.

Santana saved her from embarrassing herself, still smiling at her.

"Have a good night, Brittany."

"You too, Miss Santana."

The Avalon left the parking lot, leaving Brittany alone to her thoughts. She really wanted to see Santana again. Perhaps her job wouldn't be so boring after all.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

I had this story up for a lil bit and since some of you showed interested I decided to post it in here as well. This is just the beginning, and the first chapter it's just to get a feel on Brittany's background. The first couple chapters will be in her POV, but it will change later on.

Warning though, this will be slowburn even if it's based on a GKM prompt so bear with me. I won't post the prompt here because it would spoil some of the story. If you are curious though, just PM me and I'll gladly answer it. Thank you.

Also, all mistakes are mine.

Please let me know if I should continue. Thanks for everyone who supported this.

Ducks.


	2. Handsome Stranger

It really didn't take long for Brittany to see the mysterious woman again.

To her pleasant surprise, the brunette was there on the following day. It had been Brittany's second 10 hour shift, and she had come even earlier than usual, just in time to see the woman coming in to work and they exchanged pleasantries.

The smile didn't leave the blonde's lips for the rest of the morning.

Even if Santana didn't show up during lunch hour, they met each other as she left at seven. Brittany noticed right away Santana was more talkative at the end of the day; probably because she didn't have a job to do. Brittany managed to not look like a complete blushing fool as she was finally able to start the least amount of small talk, commenting pointlessly about the weather. Lucky for her, the weather was acting strange. Winter in LA felt odd. It still hadn't rained but the temperature had dropped on the last few days.

"What happened to your watch?" Santana changed the subject, catching Brittany off guard as she pointed to the blonde's bare wrist with a frown. Brittany hopelessly tried to fight the inevitable blush that was already creeping into her face and shrugged, trying to act cool.

"Too bad. It was cute." the brunette smiled up at her. And Brittany couldn't help but think Santana might just be the sweetest.

That night Brittany went to sleep thinking about Santana.

The next day she wore the robot shaped watch.

She thought Santana might have given her a knowing smile. But she might be wrong.

* * *

The job had been a lot more exciting since Santana. Brittany now watched the monitors more carefully after every rush hour in the hopes of seeing her. Only in days she had an extended 10 hour shift she would see Santana in the morning and evening. She might have talked to Mr. Lynn to get her later shifts, since Hudson was usually late for the night shift anyway. Brittany didn't even try to convince herself that she didn't do it for Santana. This way, she would be able to see the brunette everyday as she left in the evening. She hoped that it wasn't too stalkish though.

It was funny to Brittany how she treated Santana on a first name basis and still called Ryder by Mr. Lynn; Puck reminded her the other day what his name was.

But Mr. Lynn didn't greet her with the same smile or twinkle in his eyes, like Santana. Or laugh at Brittany's lame attempt at a joke. Or even noticed the book Brittany was reading on her spare time and took the time to talk to Brittany about it. Santana didn't mock, like her mother or told her to grow up. Instead she got excited about it, when Brittany disclosure it was her favorite book.

"So they just got to Neverland?" She asked enthusiastically, her face brightened up.

Brittany was having a hard time forming words and not staring; Santana's dark hair was down today, and it just cascaded in soft curls over her shoulders and the blonde might have thought she looked angelic.

So Brittany just nodded.

Santana smiled. That tender and kind smile that made Brittany's heart flutter. The blonde wasn't used to someone paying such close attention to what she said, and with that much interest. Brittany felt she might just be falling for this girl already.

She might have been staring for a while now, but she really didn't really care. Though Santana's low voice caught her attention.

"Can I tell you a secret?" She whispered leaning forward, out of the car's window.

Brittany didn't think her grin could get any bigger as she nodded eagerly to Santana, leaning in as well.

Santana giggled at her reaction and whispered "Alice is my favorite book."

Brittany was surprised, but her smile only got bigger. "Awesome."

Santana looked from side to side before bringing a finger to her lips. "But don't tell anyone."

"It will be our secret." Brittany whispered, her face beaming. She felt a welcome warmth spreading through her at the thought that Santana would share a secret with her, regardless of what it was.

She bit her lip in thought. What she really wanted to do was share her own secret. She liked Santana. As simple as that. All she wanted was to just hop in Santana's car and drive into the sunset.

Their moment was broken when Santana gasped at the time.

She bid her farewell quickly, but was still so sweet.

When Brittany looked at her robot watch after seeing her off, she realized how late it actually was. They had been talking for nearly an hour.

She found herself smiling like an idiot as the Avalon drove off.

* * *

"What's this?" Brittany looked curiously at the package Santana just handed to her.

Santana ducked her head slightly and it was possibly the first time the brunette had faltered in her confidence so far, and Brittany was absolutely certain that it was the cutest thing. She thought she saw a shade of red on her cheeks, but it might have been just wishful thinking.

It took a few seconds for her to process the fact Santana was giving her something. She was giving Brittany a gift. And it wasn't even her birthday.

Brittany tore the package open in excitement not wanting to waste anymore time; her stomach feeling as if ducks were flapping its wings and flying in circles.

Her heart warmed at the sight of her gift.

"The other day you said you never read it before, just saw the movie. So I thought you might like it." Santana looked small as she carefully watched the blonde's reaction.

As if Brittany wouldn't like a gift from Santana. She inwardly laughed. But she was genuinely happy with her gift.

"I love it." Her voice softer than usual as she reassured the brunette, holding with the utmost care the copy of _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ in her hands_. _Though the book looked amazing with its fancy lettering and size, it also looked rather expensive. Perhaps too expensive. She could tell it was a special edition.

"Santana, I can't take this." The smiled that was on Santana's face after Brittany's first statement disappeared and was replaced by confused scowl.

"It's too…" Brittany didn't quite know how to phrase it. She didn't want to offend Santana or reject her gift, but said gift probably cost more than her current food quota of the week; which was just 50 bucks, but still too much. "It's too much."

"Please, Britt." Santana looked right into her eyes with her deep brown, they seemed so pleading that Brittany didn't have much choice. The fact Santana that just called her by a nickname might have something to do with it as well.

"Okay, I'll take it." Brittany relented with a roll of her eyes but her beaming smile showed how she truly felt.

"But!" She said stopping Santana's mid celebration. "Only on one condition."

"Yeah?" Santana smirked at her and lift her eyebrow curiously.

Brittany fought the urge to just lean in and kiss that smirk off her face and continued her plan.

"I'll tell you that tomorrow."

* * *

The noises in the kitchen woke Brittany from slumber. She rubbed at her eyes trying to understand the yelling that followed. It seemed Puck and Cassandra had gotten into a fight again. Brittany flopped on her bed with a huff. She was really having a good dream; that might have involved a certain brunette with beautiful eyes, before those two had ruined it.

She glanced at the clock and since it was almost time for work, she might as well get up and stop the violence in the kitchen.

Cassandra was shoving a finger in Noah's face and he had his arms folded defensively as Brittany walked out of her bedroom. She ignored the two standing by the table and went straight to the kitchen cupboard to pour some cereal. The blonde walked pass them again and sat comfortably on the couch; Puck had stayed over, so she just kicked his covers to the side.

Brittany noticed the sudden silence that followed and glanced at her roommates. They were both staring at her, looking puzzled.

"Wha-aa?" Brittany said with a mouthful of cereal.

Cassandra twitched her nose at the sight, before speaking at the same time as Puck.

"You didn't say anything."

"Are you okay?"

They glared at each other for speaking over the other. They did have certain similarities, Brittany thought.

She noticed Puck looked slightly concerned. But she guessed her plan was working. They weren't fighting anymore. Brittany usually would step between them, and tell them to 'Stop the Violence' but it wasn't always effective as of late. So she just had to change tactics.

"I'm good." She kept eating, her face inexpressive.

Puck took a deep breath and grabbed his cup of coffee as Cassandra muttered a 'whatever' his way. She made sure to only say goodbye to Brittany as she left the apartment.

Brittany watched in the corner of her eye as Puck took a seat next to her.

"You sure you're good, B?" He said taking a sip of his mug.

"I'm great." Brittany smiled, rather mischievously. "And now, you're not fighting anymore."

Puck stared at her for a few seconds until he caught on to it, bumping his friend on the shoulder.

Brittany finished her breakfast and went to the kitchen to wash her bowl. Puck noticed the skip to her steps.

"You look happy today. Had any dreams about your girl?" He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Puck!" Brittany turned around abruptly.

"Ohh, is that a yes?" Brittany's blush was enough of an answer. So his laughter was inevitable. She concentrated in washing her dishes until he stopped his annoying laughing fit.

"She is not my girl though." She mumbled sadly a few moments later as she sat back down on the couch.

"Do something about it, and she will." Brittany scoffed at his suggestion. He looked confused but brushed off her odd behavior.

"Gonna see her today?" He turned to her, and watched as she stared dreamily into space mumbling a quiet 'I hope so.'

"Then do it. Ask her out. You have been giddy for this girl for more than a week, Brittany." He encouraged his friend. Truthfully, he hadn't seen Brittany acting like this in a long time, if ever.

"Do you really think she would go out with me?" The blonde looked up from her knees, and Puck frowned. Brittany had never been like this either. She was usually pretty confident; she knew she was hot and had a smoking body. So her newfound shyness and insecurity was unsettling to him.

"Pierce, you were never like this. Where's the confidence?" He noticed how she fumbled with her hands in her lap, and his frowned deepened. "What's the matter, B?"

She shrugged, trying to play it off. But Puck didn't give in, sitting fully on the couch to stare at Brittany's side until she cracked.

His gaze was making her uncomfortable so Brittany relented, rolling her eyes at his lame but effective method.

"She works at a fancy company, Puck. She must have a fancy job. I'm just a nobody." She mumbled, never meeting his eyes.

"She would be a fool not to date you." He brushed his shoulder against hers in support. "And if she is as amazing as you have been yapping about, then she will."

"Thanks, Puck." She finally met his gaze, returning his previous gesture with her shoulder.

Puck got up from the couch and grabbed his backpack from the floor. "I gotta go, B."

She frowned, looking up at him.

"I won't be back for a few days. I'll call as soon as I get back, ok?"

Brittany jumped up from her seat and hugged him tightly for a few seconds. She had almost forgotten that Puck was going to Europe because of his work for a little while. He would be back, but she still was going to miss him.

"Take care, Nic." He pulled back and headed for the door. Brittany laughed at the silly nickname from when they were kids.

"Alright, Raccoon!" She said his nickname back, in reference to his ridiculous hair style during their teens that looked more like a dead raccoon at the top of his head than anything else.

And just like that, she was left alone in the apartment at the shut of the door.

* * *

Brittany didn't take long to get ready and drive to work. The traffic was bad, but she managed to get there on time.

She was excited as she sat on her station for her later shift. Her small conversations with Santana were easily the best part of her day. The blonde was eager for the end of the day already. She couldn't wait to see her.

And this time, she planned on doing something about it.

Her talk with Puck gave her that push she needed. Brittany wanted to maybe buy her some flowers, or buy her a book to continue her plan, but her paycheck was only in a couple days so she would have to improvise.

She waited for the lunch hour to pass. She was so giddy she even stopped by the lobby to greet Mafalda and share a turkey sandwich.

She waited. She watched and she waited.

But that day. Santana didn't come.

* * *

Brittany had been sad and worried through the rest of the previous day; both because Santana didn't show up, and because she couldn't even talk to her best friend about it. She was uneasy and concerned when she realized that Santana's car was in the overnight list. The blonde made an extra round before she left just to check if it was for real.

She couldn't help that she missed Santana already. And now she was worried about her.

She didn't know exactly what the brunette did in the company, but she guessed it wasn't normal for her to miss work. The fact Santana had left without her car and still hadn't come today to pick it up only worried her further.

Brittany was just staring at her favorite book, which she had just finished, with a frown on her face. She wished she had more things to do, and now she was stuck worrying over a certain woman for the rest of the day, and she still had two more hours of work. Santana hadn't left her mind all day; to be completely honestly the brunette was never far from her mind for some time now.

She saw movement in the corner of her eye and checked the monitor. To her surprise, it was the familiar black Avalon. She couldn't help and feel giddy again; automatically leaving her worries behind. Maybe Santana had just come in later for work today. She did want to ask the brunette what happened on the previous day, but she didn't know if she should.

Santana's car pulled up on the corner, and Brittany got even more excited. Her grin couldn't get any bigger when she saw the window roll down, only to have it ripped from her face when she noticed; it was not Santana but a man.

"You're not Santana." She blurted out before she could control it. To her wonder, the man gave her a bright smile, his teeth showing and Brittany noticed the presence of a familiar dimple in his cheek.

He had mirth in his eyes when he replied "No, I'm not."

She thought he sounded almost flirty, even if she had to admit he was quite handsome, somehow it only annoyed her. She was really looking forward to seeing Santana after seeing the Avalon; she hadn't seen the brunette on the previous day and she was already missing her as pathetic as it sounded it.

Brittany really wanted to question why this stranger was in Santana's car, and driving it for her. But she couldn't overstep her job. More importantly she wanted to ask what happened to Santana. She was about to ignore the rules and question him, when he handed her his parking documentation.

He didn't falter his smile at any moment.

She wished he had handed some sort of real identification, but there was only Santana's usual electronic permit and a weird blue visitor's ID. She checked on the computer to see if the number was validated and the special ID valid and everything seemed perfectly fine. Even as she checked, she could feel his eyes on her. Why was he even smiling so much?

Brittany extended the documents back to him, she really wanted to ask for Santana but he just grabbed his things back and winked at her before exiting the parking lot.

She just stood there, not knowing what to do.

Her brain was a spiral of thoughts and questions. Too many questions that she didn't know the answer to. Where did Santana go? Was she alright? Why would she even leave her car? And have someone picking it up?

She could already feel a migraine forming. It really upset Brittany that this handsome stranger had full access to Santana's life, or so the blonde believed, even her car and she couldn't even ask about it. She had no right to even feel this way. She didn't know Santana. She was not her friend, she was nobody.

She told herself it was just a crush. It's better if she thought it was a useless crush. But it was clear, she was already passed that point.

The taste of bile filled her mouth as she thought of the man again. Who knows who he was? Or what might be his relation to Santana. He clearly was not Santana's father. He was far too young. Maybe a sibling or friend, a very close friend who she trusted her car with; who was Brittany kidding there was a high possibility this man was Santana's boyfriend, or worse.

She swallowed the large lump on her throat. This really sucked, now she just knew the hours would drag by until her shift was over.

To make things worse, when she got to her apartment later that day, Cassandra informed her the heat was broken.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

Here you go! Another chapter! I was baffled by the amazing response to the story. So I'm definitely going to continue uploading it here. Thank you so much for the support and amazing reviews.

(I edited and changed small parts of the original draft if anyone is wondering.)

Also, all mistakes are mine.

I would love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter and everyone in it.

Ducks.


	3. The Warmth of a Home

Santana didn't show on the following day. Which was expected. Not everyone worked on a Saturday, Brittany had to tell herself.

Even if the brunette had worked on the previous weekend.

After a numb shift, Brittany finally arrived home. Mr. Heckles still hadn't given any news about new key, but thankfully, that morning she had found her set of keys in the fridge's vegetable drawer; though she had no recollection how that even happened. But to be honest she was grateful to finally have found it, because she didn't think she would have the money, he was sure to charge for the services.

She opened the door to a cold apartment, and it felt colder than before. Puck was not there. She had no one to talk to. Cassandra had left in the morning because of the lack of heating and Brittany had no idea when she would be back.

To tell the truth, Brittany grew more concerned when Santana didn't return today. Brittany wanted to tried and ask Mr. Lynn but Marlin, the receptionist, couldn't find him for the blonde during her break. So Brittany was left to worry for the rest of her shift. Would she even come back? Brittany couldn't fathom that thought. She was already too attached. She felt dumb. She should have at least asked for Santana's number some time ago.

Brittany didn't really care anymore if she had a chance with the brunette or not. She was just concerned. If she had to be Santana's friend, Brittany would take it. She would take at anything at this point.

She barely registered that today was her last working day of the week and she was getting paid for the first time.

The blonde stared at the frigid empty apartment that greeted her and decided she didn't want to be there. She would deal with that later. She got in her truck minutes later, heading for the only place she would feel at home.

* * *

"Daddy!" She called out to her father as she entered his apartment; he had never asked her key back after she moved out.

"Hey, Beep!" He greeted her from the kitchen. Brittany smiled at the sweet nickname; he had been calling her that ever since she could remember.

The small apartment was a little bigger than Brittany's. With only a small kitchen, two bedroom and a standard bathroom; but then again anything was bigger than a 420 square feet apartment with two bedrooms, like the one she was living now.

Her father still kept her things in her old bedroom in case she ever needed it. She had suggested he turned the room into his office/workshop once she left but he was adamant on leaving the room just as it was. Instead, he continued to use half of the living room space as his office, just as he did when Brittany was growing up.

"How's work?" She greeted him with a sweet kiss on his wrinkly face.

"Oh you know, not many people wanna get their car fixed by an old man." He laughed it off while taking the mac and cheese out of the stove. "If I knew you were coming I would have made something better, Beep."

"It's no problem, Dad. And I can make my own." She waved him off, bumping him with her hip so he would scoot over the stove. "And you're not that old, daddy."

He laughed and pulled her into his side, kissing her forehead. "No need. I made too much anyway."

Brittany smiled and just hugged her father for a moment; relishing on his familiar scent and the smell of his after shave lotion.

She helped him move the plates and drinks to the living room where they said comfortably at the couch to eat their dinner.

Brittany chewed on her mac and cheese, as she watched her dad dig into his own portion. He looked tired. His aging face and whiten hair giving away his age. Edward Pierce or Eddie P, as his friends called him was already 43 when Brittany's mother got pregnant at 37, which made him 63 now. He was as active as he had always been but nowadays his age was taking a toll on his work.

"How long until you retire?" Brittany asked worriedly, putting her fork down. She knew her father enjoyed his work but he was in constant pain from working such a physically demanding job. She wished she wasn't struggling that much with her finances so she could help him.

"Ohh, not for a couple more years." He said casually, even as he turned to his daughter with a smile and smoothed the grease forming on her forehead with his thumb. "Don't worry about me, Beep." He poked her on the nose and continued eating, his smile still in place.

"How are you doing, my sweet?" He asked after a while.

"I'm good, Daddy." Brittany didn't lift her eyes from the bowl. She didn't like lying to her father.

"Oh yeah? Noah told me he had to get you a job."

Ugh. Busted. Brittany thought, mentally cursing Puck for running his mouth.

"He rated me out?" She complained stuffing her face with the rest of her meal.

"Beep, there's no need to feel ashamed. Maybe I can help you." He suggested as he also finished his food.

"Daddy, you barely make it as it is, you don't need to spend money on me." She faced him fully, trying to convince her stubborn father.

"But I can't have my daughter without a home. You should have told me you couldn't find work." Eddie crossed his arms defensively. Brittany could see how upset he was just at the prospect of Brittany not having a roof over her head.

"It was just temporary dad." She took his rough hand in both of hers. "And he did help me get a good job. It pays well, and I can make rent just fine." She reassured him. "and it's more than enough until I get a job on the force."

"Alright, Lil Beep." Eddie gave her a small smile as he nodded along, putting his free hand on top of hers.

"But please let me know if you need anything." He continued, looking more somber now. "We only have each other, love. Let me do something for you." He seemed sad, and she knew he was lonely. His eyes were almost pleading for Brittany to just let him help.

"Ok, Dad. I promise. If I need anything, I'll let you know." She kissed him on the cheek again, cuddling to his side, as she turned on the TV.

They stayed in that position as they watched their favorite shows for a while, until Eddie broke the silence.

"I got a letter from you mother." He said, halfway through a cop show. Brittany looked up from his chest in surprise.

"More like an announcement, actually." Eddie sighed, rubbing at his face with his free hand. Brittany just looked confused.

He untangled himself from Brittany and got up from his seat, picking up an envelope from his desk before coming back to the couch. He had a hint of sadness in his eyes as he handed her the envelope.

Brittany recognized her mother's handwriting on it and opened. There it was. A wedding announcement. She didn't even know people did that anymore. It informed that Miss Susan Pierce would be marrying a fellow named Dwight Evans. That named sounded familiar for some reason.

Brittany looked wide eyed at her father. It was so mean of her mother to do this to him.

He looked back, his eyes nostalgic before he scoffed. "He is some sort of wood businessman."

Something clicked in Brittany's mind at the words. "From Evans Lumber Co.?"

Eddie nodded forlornly. Brittany made an 'Oh' face, thinking that's why that name sounded familiar.

"I guess she's trading up." He mumbled dejectedly. Brittany moved closer to him, burying her face in his chest and hugging him tight.

"No, she's not." Her words muffled against his flannel shirt. "You are the most amazing man I know. And the best dad in the world." Her eyes teared up as she looked up at the most important person in her life.

"Oh, lil Beep." He cupped her cheek, looking like he was holding back his own tears before he wiped the single tear falling from her left eye. "And you are the best daughter."

She sighed into his shirt and let her father hold her for as long as both of them need it.

Brittany loved her dad. He really was amazing, as a person and father. He was selfless and genuine. She remembered how he took Noah in when they were younger and his dad had left, making sure to spend time with the boy and include him in family trips.

She couldn't help feeling guilty though. As much as her dad reassured her that his marriage was over long before that night, she still felt like it was mostly because of her that they had split up.

She had spent her childhood days living in a small house in the city with both her parents. They lived relatively well, her father being a good and hard working mechanic and her mother working in a hotel; which meant she was the one spending most time at home.

At fourteen Brittany realized her own sexuality and as she was always very open with her dad, it didn't take long before she shared herself and her true feelings with her family.

Her mother on the other hand, insisted Brittany was just confused as she usually was and would get over the silly behavior. After that day, Susan acted as if it had never happened.

But obviously, it didn't go away.

A year later Brittany brought home a girlfriend to introduce to her parents, only her mother was home that night. And she flipped, humiliating Brittany and the other girl in the process. She said it was disrespectful of Brittany to bring her in, and force her mother to accept her abnormal 'life style'. Susan drove away the other girl and slapped her own daughter that night.

As they faced each other in the middle of the living room, Brittany holding onto her redden cheek and Susan looking at her with disappointment; her girlfriend at the time long gone. The woman gave her daughter an ultimatum. That she would either drop with this nonsense or she would leave their house.

Brittany had always been true to herself. And to her mother's surprise the girl told her, she would rather live on the streets than to lie to herself and pretend she was something she was not.

That night as the blonde packed her belongings in a bag with tears falling freely from her eyes, her father came bustling through her bedroom door. He hugged Brittany tighter than he ever did before. He was crying, the dampness in Brittany's shirt told her that. He took a closer look at his child, and upon seeing his daughter cheek, red and swollen. He made a decision.

As Brittany curled up on her bed that night, she listened to the shouting in the living room. She heard as her father gave his wife his own ultimatum. He was adamant that Susan would either accept their daughter as she was, or both of them would leave her life.

Eddie already knew the answer before he even made the question.

They moved out on the following day. Susan emotionless gave her husband only that night to leave their house along with his daughter.

Eddie rented the apartment he currently lived in. It had been about seven years, since that day and Brittany barely heard from her mother since then, other than when she came for the divorce papers and settlement.

The man had made sure to reassure his daughter that it wasn't her fault, because it really wasn't. Their marriage had been on the rocks for years. Susan was unsatisfied with their life, with the lack of money, and their marriage. She had once admitted in a heated fight that she was only with him because of the marriage obligation, which broke his heart, because he had loved her still. The fact she couldn't accept their daughter for who she was, was merely the last straw of a long line of problems. And Eddie could not share his life with someone that would harm his child. Brittany was the most precious thing he had in the world, and he would protected her from anyone, even her own mother.

He didn't have the heart to tell his baby girl that her own mother had considered her dead. That night as she was leaving Susan told him she had no child, her only daughter had died to her.

That night he only saw a cold-hearted woman, and no longer the sweet girl he had fallen in love with, sixteen years prior.

Life was hard after that. Eddie had to pay the rent of a new apartment with only his income and after the divorce settlement Susan had taken most of what they had. But together, father and daughter had gotten through it. As they always had. He had to take more shifts but never complained. Brittany was grateful for her Dad and all his hard work; she wished one day she could do the same for him. He deserved happiness more than anyone in her opinion.

"Do you work tomorrow?" He asked after a while interrupting Brittany's thought. She shook her head as she yawned against his chest.

"Do you wanna spend the night? We gotta put your bedroom to use." He patted her head and ran his fingers through her blonde hair lovingly.

Brittany laughed and nodded, grateful for the invitation. She loved her father very much. And she mentally thanked his sixth sense, because she really didn't want to come back to an empty apartment without any heating.

* * *

Despite her father having to work even on a Sunday, Brittany ended up having fun.

She had breakfast with him, and he made her favorite pancakes. Then she got to spend the day with him at the shop where she got to hang out with him and his buddies. Everyone was really nice and lively, so Brittany couldn't complain.

Eddie had put the word out that no young man should bother Brittany and all the other seniors were protective over her. So when Rory, a young mechanic tried to just get closer to Brittany with a flirty smile, the men all told him to take a hike.

Brittany laughed as her uncle Bobby shooed the poor kid away. He turned to her with a wink, before slapping Rory on the back of his head. He wasn't really her uncle, but she treated him as such. The grumpy bearded fellow was Eddie's closest friend and was always a constant presence as the blonde grew up.

During the day she got a text from Cassandra telling her she wouldn't be back today. Brittany was actually surprised Cassandra had bothered to tell her at all.

She spent another night at her real home, warm in her old but comfy bed. The last few days had been good to distract her of a certain brunette.

But as Monday approached and she couldn't find sleep even in the familiarity of her room, she couldn't help but think about the girl that had clouded her mind for the past weeks. She wished she knew more about Santana and wondered if she would see the girl again.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

You are all amazing! I can't believe so many of you are liking this story! Thank you so much!

Sorry for the lack of Brittana in this one, but bear with me, it was necessary to know more about Brittany's life.

If some had read this on my lj, you may notice a few changes, improvements I hope (edited and changed from the original draft) and the same will happen to future chapters.

All mistakes are mine and if you can, I would love to know what you thought of this chapter.

Ducks.


	4. Perfectly Executed Plan

The down side of spending her weekend with her father was that on Monday morning Brittany had to leave early and stop by her chilly apartment before getting to work. And it was empty again. In fact if the blonde didn't know any better she would guess no one lived there for a while. She wondered if Cassandra had stop by at all during the time she was away. She didn't have much time to delve on it though, so she hurried back to her truck with her duffel bag and went to work.

The first half of her shift was as boring as usual. Nothing happened excepted for her trying to make something out of the mess Finn Hudson had made with his reports during the weekend. After having to start the paperwork all over again because of Hudson's sloppiness, she ended up having to skip her morning round, just to finish all of it.

Lunch hour had finally arrived and Brittany sighed in relief. Her dad had made a real good lunch so she was not going to waste it. She went up to the employees lounge right next to their locker to heat up the homemade lasagna. Marmalade, the receptionist, was there talking to a few securities guards that the blonde hadn't seen before.

The nice receptionist beaconed Brittany to join them when she noticed the girl was alone. Brittany then introduced herself to her coworkers and made acquaintance. They mostly seemed nice. Even the intimating looking Karofsky, who was a large but fit guy with a frowny face. They all talked for a while and Brittany got along surprisingly well with him and a girl named Quinn; she was pretty and easy to talk to so it wasn't hard. David Karofsky on the other hand reminded her a bit of Puck back in the day; tough on the outside but with soft marshmallow on the inside. Though in Karofsky case, she was pretty sure it was rainbow marshmallow. And her gaydar was pretty accurate most times, but she didn't say anything to him either way.

After lunch, she was back at her station. Socializing wasn't so bad, but she had already gotten used to the quiet of her station. Brittany rattled her fingers on the wood of her desk in deep thought for a moment, before opening one of its drawers to see a book. Santana's book. Or better, the book Santana had given her.

She finished reading _Peter and Wendy_ some time ago, but still hadn't touch _Alice's Adventure in Wonderland_; Santana's favorite. She wouldn't really be able to concentrate on reading even if she tried it. She knew that. Brittany would probably wonder off into her own wonderland thinking about Santana as she read it.

After minutes staring at the book and thinking about the girl who gave it to her, Brittany decided to just get her afternoon round over with. She got her flashlight and keys and stepped out of her station, checking car after car off her clipboard as she walked pass them.

As she stepped onto the second underground floor to finish off her list, she stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn't believe it. There it was. The black Avalon was back in its usual spot, parked meticulously as it had been for the last two weeks.

Her heart sped up. Did that mean Santana was back? Or was the annoying handsome fellow back in her place?

Tying her expectations to the ground was useless as they were already sky high. She hoped, she wished Santana was here today. At this point she was willing to wait until 7pm even if it hadn't been her shift. Brittany would just have to prepare for either delight or disappointment. She convinced herself that even if that man showed up today instead of the brunette, this time she would ask him about Santana no matter what. She would not waste the opportunity again.

Brittany was already impatience during the rush hour and ended up taking more time than usual. Her trembling hands fumbled with people's parking permit and she had to constantly apologize for it.

As the clock hit 7 pm, Brittany could feel her heart rate rising and how clammy her hands were getting. A few excruciating minutes later, she heard the sound. She wondered if she got so familiar with the car she already knew it by sound.

The Avalon showed up on the monitor's screen shortly after as it rode up the ramp. Soon the car was pulling up by Brittany's window.

Brittany held her breath as the window rolled down.

"Santana."

The name escaped her mouth in a relieved whisper before she could even register. Brittany wouldn't be able to hide her surprise and absolute joy even if she wanted to. There Santana was. In all her marvelous glory. Hair falling in loose curls and framing her beautiful face, which had just the right amount of make-up, she looked just as dazzling as the blonde remembered; perhaps even more in Brittany's opinion.

There was only one thing in Brittany's mind.

_I missed you._

Santana smiled as if hearing it, but that was probably only in Brittany's head. There was something odd, though.

The first thing she wanted to say was how much she had missed Santana, but there wasn't really a way to say that without sounding really lame, since it had only been a few days. So Brittany brushed that thought aside. One thing that was concerning her at the moment was that something seemed off with the brunette. Her eyes, they looked different. Like the smile didn't reach her eyes this time. Brittany frowned in concern; it wasn't like Santana, not during their talks and time together.

"Are you okay?" She asked before anything else.

"Yeah." Santana stretched out the word. And Brittany didn't quite believe her.

She wanted to ask what happened, but she knew it wasn't appropriate. On the other hand, she already considered Santana her friend, and it was normal for one friend to be concerned by the other's absence, right? It was a totally plausible excuse.

"Were you…sick?" Brittany asked fumbling with her clammy hands, but keeping eye contact.

"Yeah. Sick." Santana nodded, agreeing with the blonde. But to Brittany something still didn't feel right.

She wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything about the brunette but she wouldn't force her if Santana didn't want to. So she changed tactics.

"How was your weekend?"

"Nothing much," Santana started averting her eyes. "Just you know, recovering."

The blonde nodded, that sounded a lot like deflecting to Brittany. It seemed she wasn't going to get much from the brunette. At least not today.

"You?" Santana asked, and she actually looked interested now that the conversation didn't focus on her.

"I hanged out with my Dad. I know it sounds lame, but it was pretty cool." Brittany responded truthfully.

"I bet it was."

There it was again. _That_ smile. The smile that melted Brittany into a little puddle and the one that brightened up Santana's whole face.

Brittany must have got lost again in her Santana haze because before she knew it, Santana was scrunching up her face cutely.

"What's that smell?" She sniffed rather adorably for a few seconds before asking with a quirk of her brow "Maple Syrup?"

Brittany was confused for a second before realizing what she was talking about and couldn't help but laugh.

"Ohh, yeah." She picked up a brown little ornament she had hung near the window.

"I got this from Uncle Bobby. He works with Dad. He knows I love Maple Syrup so he gave me this for my car." She held tightly the black elastic connected to the round shaped ornament that read: Butter Maple Syrup Air Freshener.

Santana looked puzzled for a moment, and before she could ask Brittany was already answering.

"George doesn't like Maple Syrup, so I put in here." She shrugged matter-of-factually.

Santana laughed, and smile fondly at her. Brittany was glad she seemed to remember the name of the blonde's car and still thought it was amusing rather than weird. She was also glad that Santana didn't keep being distant and things seemed to be just fine between them.

"It smells great!" She complimented, sniffing around for good measure. "I'm getting hungry though."

Brittany laughed as well, and kind wished she could have dinner with Santana right now. Which gave her an idea…

"Oh, I'm gonna be late for dinner." Santana glanced worriedly at the clock on her dashboard.

Brittany was brought down by that statement; it kinda ruined her new plan to ask Santana to have dinner with her. She deflated, maybe it was too soon for that. She was also trying really hard to ignore the implication that for Santana to be late for dinner it meant the brunette had somewhere to be or someone to meet.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Britt."

And just like that Brittany was smiling again.

Santana called her Britt again. And Santana was coming back.

* * *

As promised, Santana returned on the following day to Brittany's delight, the blonde couldn't be happier.

She had gotten there later for her shift, but as she drove over she spotted some beautiful flowers at a shop. Her money was a little tight but she bought a single white oriental lily and kept it safely with her for the rest of the day.

When the time came and Santana stopped by after work, Brittany was more than happy to greet her with the flower.

* * *

Brittany came in earlier on Thursday for her extended shift. But this time when she got to the reception, Mr. Lynn was the first one she saw. He was chatting up with Myrle at the front desk of the building.

"Good morning, Mr. Lynn." She greeted her superior, smiling politely at him.

"Oh, Brittany! Good to see you!" He looked genuinely excited to see her. She would never tell him but the man really looked like a puppy dog most of the time. It marveled her how he was the head of the security officers, when the man was as intimating as a flock of kittens.

"And don't call me that! We are practically the same age. Call me Ryder." Ryder Lynn insisted, casually flipping his brown bieber hair to the side.

"In fact, I was just telling Marley how you were such a great addition to Aurea Enterprises." He told her with a bright smile, showing all his pearly white teeth. Brittany tried to hide her surprise at hearing the receptionist name. She had been calling her Matilda or something similar all along. Oh well.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that." He gestured towards the door that lead to the employee's locker.

"Oh, okay." Brittany consented, waving at Marley as she followed the man to the lockers.

Brittany had just stuffed her duffel in her locker and started sorting out the things she would need for the day when Ryder spoke, catching her attention.

"I'm very pleased with your work so far." He started as he sat in one of the benches. "You have potential, Brittany."

Brittany didn't really see how he could notice that since nothing much had happened since she started but she didn't say anything or refute his compliments.

"I'm gonna start showing you the ropes around here for the rest of the week." Ryder looked very pleased with himself as he said it. "So after lunch hour, you can come up here and we'll start going through floors."

"I'll have someone fill in for you while you are out." He said as he got up and headed for the door with a brief wave of his hand.

Brittany should be happy, she was moving up on her new job already. But a part of her worried if she would see Santana during work hour again if the blonde didn't work on the parking lot. And she wanted to see the brunette today more than anything, but she wasn't sure how long her training with Ryder would take.

Santana didn't show up for lunch as usual. Brittany was already used to it, but something in her always made her look at the monitor just to make sure. This time she was extra hopeful because she didn't know if she would be there to see Santana off later today.

When she finished her meal at her station; a peanut butter sandwich, Brittany went to the lobby and Mr. Lynn was already there waiting for her.

"Brittany! Great! Let's get started." He pointed to the elevator nearby.

"Alright, Mr. Ly…I mean Ryder." She corrected her mistake when she noticed him making a face. Then he nodded in approval and they made their way to the elevator.

It wasn't that complicated to be honest. The layout of the floors were pretty much the same so once the person get used to one, they were familiar with the rest. Though, some of the protocols were a sort of a pain in the ass.

She went through most of the floors until Ryder called it a day at 6pm. He was very thoroughly showing her every security protocol during his instructions. He was nice. Nicer than she thought a boss would be.

She wondered how Puck knew him.

When they stood in the elevator as it went down back to the lobby Brittany risked that question.

"Ryder, how do you know Noah again?"

"Noah?" He stopped for a second, looking confused. "Oh, you mean Puck?" He answered absentminded. She nodded waiting for an answer. "He's related to Jake, I think. He's a cool guy."

Brittany continued to look puzzled as she leaned on the elevator's mirror before asking. "Who's Jake?"

"Oh sorry, Jake is my boyfriend." He fixed his hair in the mirror and turned back to her. "They are cousins, I think."

The ding of the elevator clicked, and Ryder was out in the next second.

Brittany stood there. She really needed to talk to Puck as soon as he called. She knew he didn't get along with his family in general, and she didn't remember him mentioning being close to a cousin. She was worried and hoped he didn't get into any trouble to help her get the job.

There was still two hours left of work for Brittany because of her extended shift, so she went back to her station by the gate. She would deal with Puck later. She had more important things to attend to. In other words, she still had time to meet Santana which just made her day a whole lot better.

She waited eagerly for Santana to show up, and as expected The Avalon rolled up at the usual time after seven.

"Hey, Britt." The brunette greeted from the car with a grin. She had her hair in a neat bun, with some sparkling earrings that looked both beautiful and adorable in her tiny ears. Brittany found that to her everything about Santana was like that.

Santana didn't even bother giving the Brittany her card. It was easy to fall back in their routine and soon she was asking about the blonde's day. It's not like there was anyone left working but Santana at this hour anyway. So they didn't have to worry about lines forming behind her.

Brittany excitedly told her all about Ryder and their afternoon activities. The possible change in her job's position wasn't confirmed so she thought it was best not to say anything for now.

After an hour of talking, Santana was just telling her about an obnoxious person she had to deal with as a client. And how she had laid down some truth on that lady.

Brittany still wasn't sure what Santana's job was, but from what the woman had told her, it definitely involved something high tec and computers. Maybe programs. Brittany wasn't good with computers so it all sounded so complicated and only made the blonde realized just how smart Santana was.

"Britt, I gotta go." She finally gave Brittany her parking permit and ID. The security guard picked it up and quickly checked her validation.

Santana got her things back, her hands lingering in Brittany's as usual. The soft touch welcomed by the blonde after the absence of it, and she held on to it longer than usual.

When Santana was pulling away Brittany stopped her.

"Wait!" She gripped a tanned wrist, firmly but not forcefully as she remembered something.

Santana looked up at her with curiosity and Brittany let go, suddenly becoming nervous. She bit her lip for a second; it might have been her imagination but Santana's eyes may have lowered to them. Brittany had almost forgotten her plan from days ago. She moved to open her desk drawer and searched for something, hoping that her plan would still work as Santana patiently waited in the car.

Brittany finally pulled out a package from the drawer and handed it to the brunette. Santana eyed it inquiringly, examining the colorful wrapping paper

"Two gifts in a couple of days? Totally winning at life." She laughed, as her face changed to a subtle shade of red. "But Britt, you really didn't have to get me anything." Santana smiled adoringly, reaching for the blonde's hand before Brittany pulled it completely away.

"No," Brittany shook her head reluctantly, silently enjoying Santana's hand on hers. "That's the condition I had for accepting your awesome gift." A mischievous smile taking over her features.

Santana still looked like she was going to protest but Brittany cut her off.

"Plus I wanted to, San." She admitted openly.

Brittany tried out the nickname. The ducks in her stomach might as well have exploded at this point. She was beyond anxious.

Santana's smile brightened at the name, and she squeezed the blonde's hand before letting it go. She carefully unwrapped the gift as if it was a precious object. Brittany really wanted to believe that for her, it was.

Brittany waited almost impatiently. She waited counting the seconds in her mind and then there it was again. The most melodic laugh in the world. It was music to Brittany's ears. She just loved to make Santana laugh in any way. She looked up at Brittany with a big smile.

"Britt…" Her eyes shone as she took a closer look at the _Peter and Wendy _hard copy in her hands.

It clearly wasn't as expensive as the copy Santana had gotten her, but it was the best Brittany could afford. She had set aside that little amount of money from her bills to buy Santana this book. She finally could finish her plan on giving Santana a gift. And by the looks of it, the brunette had liked it and the plan would be a success. But it wasn't over yet.

"Thank you." Santana said sincerely, she locked eyes with Brittany and held it for a while.

"It's amazing, Britt." She held the book close to her heart, and her smile showed her cute dimples.

Brittany was the happiest at that. She would give Santana a hundred books or gifts just to see her shine like that. All the money in the world couldn't pay for that. She wondered if now would be an appropriate time to ask the brunette out on a date or maybe dinner. The chances of Santana saying yes would be much higher if she was this happy.

"I have to go now." Brittany deflated at the words, the moment was lost, but she understood. The woman looked reluctant to leave but started the engine anyway. She put her book on the passage seat and smiled apologetically at Brittany. She probably had somewhere to be again.

The blonde was just as unhappy that Santana was leaving but at least they would see each other tomorrow. Maybe she would get another chance then.

Brittany waved as the car took off;

That night she lied in her bed. The weather was pleasant today so she didn't miss the lack of heating.

It was no surprise that she was thinking of Santana. She wondered if she would get another chance to ask her out soon. Brittany wasn't really sure if Santana had a boyfriend or girlfriend but the brunette had never mentioned or made any indication regarding it before. She just hoped that the guy from the previous week was no more than a friend at least. Santana never mentioned him before or after her absence. And Brittany was too awkward to ask her about it, because it wasn't really of her business.

She heard her phone ringing beside her. She had just picked it up when the front door slammed shut, startling her.

"Brittany, I'm here. Going to bed." Cassandra's way too loud voice filled the apartment.

"Okay!" Brittany yelled back and winced at how it echoed in her nearly empty room; to let Cassandra know the blonde was in the apartment as well. She wouldn't want her roommate thinking she was a burglar, or worst Puck.

Brittany remembered her phone and looked down at it, noticing she had a new text. It was from an unknown number.

It said:

'_Hahaha found this phone number in a book. Hope it's yours, Britt. This is Santana ;-)'_

Brittany felt lightheaded. She laughed out loud at how cute Santana was. The brunette knew it was Brittany's number as the blonde had put her name and a wink next to it as she wrote on the book's inside cover. She beamed as it seemed her plan had worked out almost perfectly.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

There you go! Some Brittana for y'all. But remember this is gonna be slow for a little while.

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for the amazing response! I'm overwhelmed by it and so happy! Please let me know if you liked this particular chapter.

All mistakes are mine, sorry about any of them.

Ducks.


	5. Haunted Woman

It was a Saturday morning when Brittany finally got the much awaited call from Noah.

"How is it going, Brittany?" He enunciated each word attempting a horrible British accent. And Brittany just laughed at his pathetic entrance.

"I'm good, Raccoon!" She teased him playfully with his old nickname. "How's the trip to fake accents university?" This time it was Noah who laughed, enjoying the familiar banter he had been missing.

"It's alright, B." He said after his laughter subsided, his voice deep and almost serious when he continued. "I'm sorry I haven't called. It's been crazy in here."

"I know, Puck. Long hours." She reassured him before he went any further. Brittany was used to only occasional calls from Noah when he traveled to faraway places. He was always so apologetic but there was nothing that could be done, it was part of his job. She knew he loved his job, the only part he actually disliked was exactly this; traveling too far for too long. Noah had admitted once or twice that he always missed his blondie sister when that happened.

They settled in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Brittany asked something that had been on her mind for a few days.

"Noah, I was wondering." She stopped for a second to think how to word her question.

"How do you really know Ryder?" She tried starting off with a simple question, but she might have inadvertently put too much emphasis on the 'really'.

He was silent for a little while before he responded with another question. "Why do you ask?"

Brittany sighed; she would just go straight to the topic then. "Is it true his boyfriend is related to you?" She blurted it out with no sugar coating; the blonde hoped she didn't sound too accusing though.

She knew the question would be more than enough and he would understand what she was getting at. The realization 'Oh', he released on the other end of the line was proof enough. Brittany knew far too much about him to not find it odd that he had contacted a relative for something. He wasn't close to his family at all and he barely knew his father before he left him and his mother. That being the main reason he looked up to Eddie Pierce so much. In his actual family, he only ever talked to his mother on occasion nowadays and to an aunt of his a bit more regularly because according to him she was the only chill one.

"Sorry I haven't told you B." He sounded remorseful on the other end. "Did Ryder tell you?" He asked but didn't give time for her to answer. "Doesn't really matter. It's right, anyway. He is on my mom's side though. Aunt Deena's kid. He's cool like his mom. I still talk to them from time to time."

"Did you have…?" She started, worried that Puck's cousin was devious like the rest of his family but got cut off by her friend.

"No, no Britt." Puck shook his head even though Brittany couldn't see him. He knew she wanted to know if he had to do any 'favors' for his cousin. "Don't worry about it, ok? I told you he is cool. And I also told you, I just gave Ryder your resume. Nothing more." He tried his best to reassure her. He was being truthful though, despite giving Ryder her resume and suggesting her for the job, he hadn't done anything else Brittany's resume and college credits did.

"Okay, thanks Puck." She appreciated the reminder, her voice filled with relief. Noah had no reason to lie to her, and she trusted him enough to believe he wouldn't do anything stupid that could get him into trouble. Those days were past him after at all.

"Always a _pleasure_, B" He smirked, suggestively putting emphasis on the word.

"Ugh." Brittany grunted in to the phone. "Way to ruin it, Ass."

He laughed wholeheartedly at his own ridiculous joke, while Brittany just enjoyed the sound of it. Puck was still half laughing when he asked with the same suggestive tone. "So what's new with the _ladies_?"

"There's no ladies, Puck." Brittany cut him off, getting annoyed by his question and it clearly showed in her voice.

"Alright, so the lady then." He asked what he had been wanting to know from the beginning. She could practically see his smirk from across the Atlantic. But she was too happy at the mention of Santana to really care or refute.

"I got her number." She said almost breathlessly, remembering the moment and her clever idea.

Puck could pretty much imagine the massive smile on the blonde's face. And he was really happy for her. He really couldn't remember the last time she was so clearly smitten by a girl.

"Way to go, Nic!" He cheered making a fist bump on his own. Puck was more than pleased that Brittany had gotten her game back. It was so fucking due, he thought to himself. "So when is the date?

Then there was silence.

Puck rubbed at his eyes already knowing what it meant. Ok, maybe she hadn't gotten her game completely back yet.

"I haven't actually asked her yet." Brittany awkwardly replied after a while, confirming Puck's suspicions.

"But we have been texting each other for the last couple days." The girl tried defending her situation but trailed off as she stared dreamily into space as she recalled the cute good mornings Santana had sent her when they didn't catch each other in the morning and more recently this very morning. She replayed in her mind all the small conversations they had via text so far. Santana was always so sweet, and seemed so thoughtful asking Brittany about herself and answering silly questions the blonde had asked, like her favorite color; which was blue by the way.

"Then, how come you haven't asked her?" The inquiring question brought Brittany back from her Santana haze but she must have took too long to respond as she could hear Puck sighing into his receiver next.

"Brittany…" He paused, taking a few seconds and Brittany prepared to hear a lesson on scoring with the ladies, and how to be smooth. But it didn't come.

"That's great. It's good that you're talking." Brittany was thrown off by his unusual statement but continued to listen. "But you should have asked. Maybe you'll have another chance soon."

Brittany wracked her brain thinking she had heard him wrong. She started wondering if something happened during this trip with Puck that somehow made him the mature and reasonable one of their relationship.

"I'll try to ask her this Monday." She said firmly to him and to herself. She should try it at least.

"Good choice, B." He was genuinely happy that his best friend was stepping up her game and going for what she wanted.

"When are you coming back, Puck?" She changed the subject before he persuaded her into asking Santana out over the phone or worse for a date tomorrow; not that she didn't want to see Santana tomorrow, but she would barely have any time to prepare herself beforehand and most importantly Brittany really wanted to ask her out in person. Phones or texts were too impersonal in her opinion.

"Oh, let me see." She heard fumbling and the rifling of papers on the other side before his voice came back. "My schedule says I'm in France until Monday. Then London…" Puck trailed off as he kept mumbling under his breath.

"You weren't even there and still tried a British accent?" Brittany couldn't control her laughter as Puck continued to look through his schedule with an idiot smile.

"I'll be home by Friday I think." He concluded after Brittany's laughing fit had subsided.

"That's too long." She whined into the phone. Puck chuckled as he imagined his friend sporting her famous pout.

"I promise I'll call more, B. And we can hang out more when I get there. Hopefully we can club with your girl by then."

She wanted to say something about him assuming that, but a part of her really wanted it to happen. If things worked out on Monday she might, she smiled involuntarily at the prospect.

But she shouldn't get ahead of herself. First, she needed to ask Santana out.

As far as Brittany having a chance with the brunette, in her mind, Santana seemed at the very least interested. She wasn't sure about her sexuality, but she totally pinged for the blonde. What she didn't know was if Santana wanted to just be friends or more. Though their sort of flirting had been going for a while and Santana never stopped or complained about it. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it. Maybe not as much as Brittany, because the blonde really didn't know if that was humanly possible.

Brittany had realized that at this point it was pass a crush for her. It had been for a little bit. She knew she had real feelings for Santana and she cared about the brunette even if they had only met no longer than a few weeks ago. But there was nothing she could do to stop it, she couldn't control her heart. No one could.

* * *

It was Monday and Brittany was really nervous. She promised herself she would ask Santana out. And during the weekend when she was planning and thinking about all the ways she could do it, she recalled the unfortunate existence of Santana's mysterious friend and his involvement with the brunette. It momentarily put a damper on her newfound confidence but she decided Santana was definitely worth a try. She was worth everything, and Brittany would just have to learn to deal with any possible rejection.

Though now that the day had arrived, she didn't think she would be this nervous after all her preparation. Just thinking about Santana made the blonde feel lightheaded.

Brittany had her normal shift for a Monday so as usual she would have to wait until the end of the evening to see Santana. At least, it would give her time to think it over once again.

She sent Santana a morning text as usual. And Brittany couldn't help and swoon at the short but sweet response with that goofy winky face that followed.

'_Good Morning, Britt-Britt ;-)'_

The blonde could feel how much closer they had gotten in the past few days. And she loved her new nickname; it might even be her new favorite. Brittany was still staring at Santana's reply when her phone buzzed once again, informing her of another message from the brunette. She frowned in disappointment as she read the brief text saying Santana wouldn't come into work today. The brunette didn't elaborate but said she had a meeting elsewhere and it will take the whole morning.

She was crestfallen as she re-read the message at least three times, but she was also incredibly happy she had gotten Santana's number when she did. If she hadn't, Brittany would be worried sick like she was that other time.

It was afternoon already and Brittany was kind of bored and she couldn't even look forward to seeing Santana at the end of the day, which put a damper on her mood. She was idly playing with her pen when Ryder radioed her.

"Pierce, we gonna need you up here." His voice came slightly muffled by the static.

She pushed the button on her radio and responded. "I'm coming right up."

When she got to the lobby, Ryder was waiting for her with Quinn by his side. She greeted the other blonde timidly and addressed her boss.

Ryder wanted her to patrol the floors today. She would be stationed at the fifth floor and do occasional rounds on the lower levels. He also explained he made a different schedule for her for the following day as well. It seemed she would have to take the closing shift and lock up the top floors. All of it because apparently the guard responsible for that had called in sick, and Brittany would take over for now.

"You'll be fine, Britt." Quinn reassured her with a pat on her back as both of them headed for the elevator and engaged in small talk. The shorter blonde was being nice, but hearing her say 'Britt' only made Brittany miss the way Santana said it. She shook her thoughts off at the ding of the elevator as Quinn waved her goodbye at the third floor. It had been only like three days and she already missed Santana. She was a lost cause.

She met up with Dave at the fifth floor per Ryder's instructions, and he walked her to her station and through her assignments. They chatted it up and she found out they had a lot in common other than the gay factor.

"Oh, so you wanna apply for LAPD?" He asked with genuine interest.

"Yeah, I've always wanted to join the force." She nodded to herself, remembering her dream ever since she was a kid.

"That's cool, Brittany." He grinned at her, but looked down as he admitted. "I'm actually thinking of applying as well."

"Really?" Brittany asked in amazement.

"I've been working as a security officer for a few years but I don't think that's my calling." He timidly rubbed the back of his head as if he was embarrassed. For such a big and muscled guy, Brittany thought he was awfully shy.

"That's awesome, maybe someday we'll work together again." She smiled at him and he gave her a crooked smile. It would be amazing for the blonde to already have a friend with her when she joined in the future.

"Oh, I have to go now. Good luck, Brittany!" He waved her goodbye as he went to the elevator.

The rest of her shift was pretty quiet and as per usual, nothing happened. Though she got off work a little earlier than normal so that was nice.

To Brittany's surprise and delight, she had barely stepped inside her chilly apartment when she heard her phone ringing. Her smile was the brightest when she saw Santana's name flashing on the screen.

"Hey, Britt." Her voice was tired but she sounded chirpy.

"San!" Brittany really couldn't contain her giddiness at talking to Santana today. It was the best surprise.

She didn't even bother making dinner, she just flopped on the couch and listened to the marvelous giggle coming through the phone.

She talked about her day, and her new found friend, Dave.

Santana didn't seem happy with that, but that might be just Brittany's imagination.

"So it turned out we have pretty similar taste in music and he's really nice." Brittany told her absentminded.

"Oh." Santana sounded weird on the other side. "That's nice."

Before Brittany could continued about how nice everyone was today and the new friends she made, Santana cut her off.

"So how's the book going?"

"It's pretty good. It's much better than the movie." Brittany had started reading _Alice's Adventure in Wonderland_ after she first got Santana's phone number. She would read it whenever she missed the brunette and didn't want to sound clingy by bothering her with too many calls. Oddly, despite Alice having more physical similarities with a young Brittany, she found that the girl reminded her more of Santana.

"I'm glad you liked it." Her voice was so soft, like velvet and Brittany almost closed her eyes at the sound.

"Just don't tell my little cousin, she loves that movie." Santana chuckled at her comment and Brittany swooned again, enjoying the lovely sounds Santana made.

Then she attentively asked about the brunette's day. She was thrilled to hear Santana didn't hesitant to tell her all about it. She said she had the most boring meeting in the world, and Brittany smiled as she could imagine the way Santana was rolling her eyes as she talked about a stupid asshole who was nick picking at some program she or her team were finishing up or something, Brittany didn't really understand how all of that worked.

"After all of that, I just did the rest of the work in my house. At least it was more peaceful." She sighed into the phone.

Brittany made a mental note that Santana lived in a house. Giving where she worked, the blonde guessed it was a nice house too, and she felt a little self-conscious as she gave a once over on her tiny shared apartment.

"I guess, I'll see you tomorrow Britt." Her sleepy voice brought Brittany from her musings as she heard Santana yawning at the other end of the line. Brittany couldn't blame her; she was just as tired to be completely honest.

"Good Night, San."

* * *

Brittany woke up with a smile on her face, if she didn't know why it would look weird. Today she was beyond eager to see Santana and after such a carefree conversation with the girl on the night before, it was enough to throw most of her nerves out of the window. At least to Brittany, they clicked in every sense of the way and the blonde had decided she wouldn't let her slip away.

She was ready.

She was asking Santana out.

Brittany got in for work later than usual, as Ryder had given her a later shift. She was in no hurry though and she might have been extra pleasant to everyone. She greeted Marley on the way in and made sure to call her by her right name this time. It seemed to Brittany today was going to be a good day. Everyone seemed in a great mood, or maybe it was only her and she wasn't able to register any sadness. Sadness was stupid in her opinion anyway.

She had a good lunch with Quinn who was nice enough to share her dots with her; which were Brittany's favorite. And Karofsky was super sweet and kept her company for a while as she did her final round in the parking lot. Santana's car was there, and Brittany practically bounced on her feet in anticipation.

Her happiness was slightly affected when she got the news from Ryder that she would have to go up to secure the floors earlier than she thought, so she would probably miss Santana leaving the building.

But nothing would faze her as it was. She made a promise to herself that she would ask Santana out the next time she would see her. And she was no longer as nervous as during the weekend. Brittany was confident she would have the courage to go through with it this time, whenever that happened.

The more she got to know the girl, the more comfortable she felt around her and realized how amazing she was. And the pull she felt towards the brunette was just undeniable at this point. It felt inevitable.

* * *

It was late. On a normal day, she would be already out of the building but instead at 7:30pm she was just starting her round at the sixth floor after being stationed at the fifth for the rest of the afternoon. Brittany had texted Santana to let her know the blonde wouldn't be working on the parking lot today, but the girl hadn't answered yet.

The hallways were rather different when there wasn't anyone rushing in and out and most lights were turned off. She was alone now. Karofsky had already left along with most of the guards, only the night staff remained on lower levels.

"Just don't go to the eighth floor. People say it's haunted." Dave joked with a smirk on his face before leaving. Though Brittany wasn't sure if it was true or not. And to be completely honest her shift at the eighth floor may or may not have been shorter than it was supposed to be.

She was nearing the top floor by now and she had already gotten the hang of it. And with no one in them, it was a fairly simple task.

Brittany was supposed to patrol and close up all the floors but the last one. Which was weird. Karofsky told her, only Ryder took care of that floor, and not a lot of people had clearance to enter it. She guessed that it was the bossy boss' floor that didn't want to be disturbed. Rich important people were usually weird like that.

Brittany had just gotten on the thirteenth floor, the place was in the dark, everyone seemed to have already left like on the rest of the building, so as she left the elevator the blonde quickly reached for her trusty flashlight. She passed the main lounge and went checking door to door. It was eerie how quiet everything was. Brittany had just turned a corner in the main hallway when she noticed a light at the last door, which looked wide open. She lowered her flashlight, as she moved towards the door.

She approached the half opened door curiously, ready to assume her position as security guard and suggest whoever was still here to leave the building. She gripped on the baton at her waist though. Even if most likely it was just an employee working late and she hadn't heard a single word from the camera security team, there was still a chance it wasn't from here. It might be an intruder. And she couldn't lower her guard, this was her job after all.

For a moment, she recalled Karofsky warnings about a certain floor being haunted, and felt a shiver run down her spine. Brittany wanted to think she was being silly. This wasn't the eighth floor, so it couldn't be that. Or at least she hoped so.

As she peered her head timidly through the door, she inevitably forgot every worry she ever had. She didn't pay the slightest attention to her surroundings, or anything else for that matter. Just the person a few feet away from her.

Before Brittany even realized it, she was already feeling the large smile taking over her face, showing all her teeth. She knew she was giving her silly love-struck smile, but she really couldn't help it because she was seeing no other than the girl that had been on her mind for this whole time.

Santana.

There she was, beautiful as ever even with the scowl on her face as she eyed the computer in front of her.

Brittany was just so happy, she could barely contain it. Just the fact she was seeing Santana out of that parking lot was already big for her. She secretly hoped for the day she would see the brunette outside of work. As she stood in the middle of the doorway, her smile beaming, she might have made a sound she didn't even realized because in the next few seconds, Santana sensed her presence and looked up.

She saw a number of emotions crossing Santana's face and she found herself reacting to each one of them. First surprise, which Brittany understood then Santana smiled, for that brief moment, Brittany felt a warmth to her heart she couldn't explain but it passed in a heartbeat and Santana's smile was gone as soon as Brittany took a step into the well-lighted room.

Brittany's smile faltered, she didn't quite understand all of Santana's expressions. She was confused, why Santana seemed so tense in front of her then, the brunette seemed always so confident and comfortable around her.

Then blues eyes finally registered Santana's chair.

Or better yet, Santana's wheelchair.

She halted her steps. Her mind racing with questions she had no possible answer to. Was Santana okay? Did she got hurt? Was it permanent? Was it recent? She gulped audibly at the thought and the frown was inevitable at the thought of anything hurting Santana.

Before she could voice any of her thoughts or worries, she watched Santana's face morph from tense and nervous to a completely blank expression. Now more than ever the brunette was a mystery.

"Get out." Her voice brash, stinging Brittany's ears.

"Uh," Brittany couldn't form words but Santana didn't give her time to get her thoughts organized.

"Get out!" The blonde flinched involuntarily and took a step back. Santana looked almost angry now, there was something else in her eye Brittany could quite figure it out. The taller girl was stunned, she had never seen Santana like this before. Brittany felt a sting in her eyes, she really liked Santana, she didn't understand why the brunette was suddenly acting this way.

Brittany didn't even try to explain she was just doing her job, the feeling of her stomach dropping and the cold sting of rejection was too much for her, she retreated into herself, all her confidence long gone and honestly she just wanted to get out of there. Brittany had barely turned around and the tears were already there coating her cheeks.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

So there it is. Almost didn't have time to get this up today, but I squeezed in a little time :) I'm not even gonna say anything. I wanna know what each one of you thought about this chapter.

Hope you are still with me for this story. It has only just began.

Again, let me just thank everyone who supports this story and all the new followers, yes I see you guys. And thank you for the wonderful reviews. It really motivates me to keep going.

All mistakes as usual are mine.

Also before I forget, someone asked if there's going to be Faberry. No, there won't be any. I'm not even sure Rachel will be in the story tbh.

Ok, now I'm gone.

Ducks.


	6. Her Sneaky Raccoon

"Britt?"

Noah poked his head inside the apartment. Not getting any response, he entered and looked around the empty apartment. He adjusted his leather jacket, feeling the chilliness of the room. It was nearly empty, even of the usual furniture so that was odd. He noticed some kitchen appliances were gone and so was the armchair next to the couch.

"Brittany?" He called for his friend again. He was getting worried, the apartment was small enough and if Brittany was here she would have heard him. Puck purposely threw his bag on the couch to annoy Cassandra.

Hoping the girl would be in her room, Puck knocked softly on Brittany's door. There was no response. He knocked again, pressing his face closer as he thought he heard something. He was now officially worried. Brittany hadn't talked to him since their last phone call early Tuesday; she had only sent him brief text messages for the rest of the week.

He slowly opened the door, the light was dimmed, but he could clearly see what looked like a a large lump made of blankets on the bed. He sighed, sitting at the foot of the bed. He petted the top of the covers, feeling the body beneath it stir.

"Britt?" He whispered,

"Hmmm." She mumbled from under the covers.

He turned on her bedside lamp and pulled on her duvet.

"Ughhh." She groaned trying to pull the covers back.

"Britt, what's wrong?" Noah asked in genuine concern.

"Nothing." She finally managed to get the duvet over her head again to protect her from the light.

Puck sighed deeply, rubbing his tired eyes; he had come straight from the airport to see his friend. He was exhausted and had no patience to beat around the bush.

"Nic, you have been sending me vague text messages all week. I called your work and Ryder said you were acting strange and that he suggested today off. So spill it, something it's clearly wrong."

She grumbled loudly from beneath the covers, but still didn't say anything.

"Is this about Santana?" he saw the shifting bump halt abruptly. It looked like she even stopped breathing. He frowned, rubbing the covers softly in a soothing manner "What happened, B? "

A moment passed, and he felt afflicted when he heard a sniff. He laid down on top of the covers right beside her, before gently pulling it back to see her face and really look at her.

Brittany had red rimmed eyes, her eyes were swollen with unshed tears and her lower lip was trembling. Puck just pulled his friend towards his chest and stroked her hair as she kept sniffing against his shirt.

"It's okay, B."

He had no idea what happened. But it broke him to see his friend in this state. Noah also didn't understand what could have gone wrong. From what Brittany had told him, Santana seemed just as into her as the blonde was. What the hell had happened. But he knew Brittany would tell him eventually. He just needed to give her some time. For now, she only needed someone to hold her.

One thing he knew. He wouldn't have it when someone hurt his friend.

* * *

Later that night, Brittany had opened up and told Puck exactly what happened during his absence. From Brittany's smooth move on getting Santana's number, the blonde getting sort of promoted in her new job to Santana's strange behavior when Brittany found her in the building Tuesday night.

One thing that seemed to slip her mind when telling him though, was revealing Santana was seated in a wheelchair. She didn't know if it was necessary to mention it. Brittany had no idea what was going on and what had happened to the brunette, something in her felt it wasn't in her place to share that with Puck, even if she felt bad about omitting things from him.

She told Puck how she had tried reaching out to Santana in any way she could. Brittany thought maybe she had overstepped and didn't know what to do. She just wanted a chance to apologize for whatever she had done wrong. She couldn't find herself being mad at Santana for treating her that way. She only felt sad about it.

That wasn't Puck's case though. He was not pleased with the brunette in the slightest.

The blonde had tried calling and she constantly texted the brunette everyday; which might have been a little desperate, but she only got complete silence in return.

She had tried practically everything. And to Brittany's dismay nothing seemed to get a response from Santana.

And to deepen Brittany's concern, the woman also hadn't even showed up at work.

Brittany spent her Wednesday half on the parking lot and the other half guarding the building, and she just had to check if Santana was there. She hopefully went to the second underground floor only to find Santana's parking space empty. She hadn't even returned to work. Brittany wondered if Santana could even drive in a wheelchair, or had the brunette been driving all along while being in one? Was that even possible? It only made her head messy and her heart heavy.

She also wondered if in fact she wasn't coming to work or Santana was just not bringing her car to avoid Brittany. But that thought hurt her the most.

After that she was back to her usual schedule, and yet still no sign of the brunette. Each time she didn't meet her or talk to her, her heart sunk lower and lower.

That Friday night as Noah comforted his friend, he suggested they spent some time with Eddie Pierce, in his opinion it would do the blonde some good and get her mind off things to have a relaxing day with her father.

Later while the Brittany slept, Puck called Eddie and already arranged everything for the following day. They would meet at the Pierce's apartment and then go for some family fishing time.

* * *

It was a sunny Saturday morning as Puck drove Brittany's car to Eddie's apartment with all their bags. The blonde was staring out the window as her friend glanced at her from time to time. George, according to Brittany, was a bit sad but Noah couldn't help smiling at the cotton candy smell inside the truck; a reminder of the girl's peculiar taste.

Not long after they got to the apartment and greeted the older man, they all got into Eddie's car and set out for the one hour drive to Morris Reservoir, their usual fishing spot.

They have been going to the spot since Brittany was a teen and she usually loved spending that quiet time with her dad. Eddie started taking Puck along with them on every fishing or camping trips they made shortly after that. Puck was already family at that point.

They stepped out of the car after a one and a half hour drive; the traffic didn't help their progress at all, and everyone was stretching their limbs before picking up their fishing gear and settling on their spot by the shore.

Brittany was arranging the bait in four different hooks for everyone in silence as Puck struggled to assemble his rod correctly. The girl had always been so much better at this than him, he remembered as he looked her way, noticing she didn't look every enthusiastic in her task as she usually was, he just hoped Eddie wouldn't notice her somber mood so early in the day.

Hours later, and they actually were able to catch something. And Brittany's mood seemed to have lightened, even if just a little.

Her father caught two fishes and Brittany got one as Puck was grumbling about the fish hating him. His whines were mostly muffled as the Pierce's laughed at him and called him a baby.

Eddie was having fun with his kids, but it was obvious to him how hollow his daughter smile looked; if one thing he knew how to discern his child's expressions like a well-read book.

"How is Aurea Enterprises, Beep?" He tried starting up a conversation after casting his next line. "I heard they are prestigious but I never understood what they actually do." He said scratching his head with his free hand.

"It's good, Dad." Brittany answered shortly but forced a smile his way. "I don't really know what they do either. Something with computers, I guess." She shrugged, her focus going back to her fishing.

He frowned as he watched his daughter. Eddie found it odd her not mentioning anyone or anything more specific about this week. Brittany was never one to keep quiet about her new job. No mention on her new friends or the possible promotion she brought up the other day, and most importantly her special new friend, Santana, that she usually talked so much about. He wondered if it had anything to do with the latter one.

"How did those rounds go? You said you might get to work as a floor security officer?" He tried to prolong the conversation, forcing Brittany to face him again.

Noah just watched the interaction from his foldable chair by the shore as he sipped his drink, wondering if he should step in.

"Yeah, it went fine. They are giving me more responsibilities now." She sat beside her rod and stared into the lake while she waited for the fish.

"That's good, sweetie." He didn't know what else to say. Eddie adjusted his rod, and set it firmly on the shore.

"Want a beer, Beep?" He asked as he headed for the cooler.

"No, dad. I'm driving us back." She reminded him without turning her head, eyes fixed on the water ahead.

He got to where Noah was lounging and picked up a beer of his own from the cooler. Eddie eyed the boy and signaled for him to follow. The older man guided him a few feet away so they could exchange some words with a little more privacy.

"Is something wrong with Beep?" He asked worriedly before taking a swing of his beer.

Puck sighed, he really had wanted to avoid this particular conversation. Even Brittany's father noticed how odd her behavior was from her usual chirpy state.

"Not my place, Pa." He replied sadly, downing the rest of his beer.

Brittany wasn't far so she ended up overhearing them and she appreciated that for once Puck was not rating her out to her father. She would tell her dad eventually; she was close to him after all and usually didn't keep anything. She just didn't feel like sharing or talking right now.

She may or may not have talked way too much about Santana to her father. And she had a feeling he might have an idea of what happened. Brittany wouldn't be surprised, it wasn't like she was subtle in her crush anyway, and her dad never minded her sexuality.

Brittany knew her father was worried but as of now she just wanted a distraction to forget, so she could then move on with her life and forget about her stupid crush; she had been telling herself for the past week that it was a crush even if she knew better.

It was time to left her feelings behind. At least that's what she thought it was best. Brittany couldn't keep going like this. She was being too dramatic to begin with. She wasn't herself for the last few days, and she couldn't allow herself that; she had responsibilities. She had her life and people depending on her and she couldn't afford to lose her job for slacking off.

She had been grateful when Ryder suggested she took half the day off on the previous day; He really was a good boss. And she was even more grateful to Puck for helping her out since he arrived.

Monday she would talk to her boss and ask if she could return to her earlier shifts, so she wouldn't have to face the disappointment of not seeing Santana on every shift in the hopes that she would come back. She just couldn't deal with this cat and mouse game anymore.

Though, something deep within her still craved for answers. Brittany just didn't know how to get them. Another part of her was undeniably worried. The questions invaded her mind about the woman's state as soon as the brunette came into her mind, which was all the time. But there was just no way for Brittany to reach her.

The lunch was pleasant and fun; Puck prepared and grilled the fish he hadn't caught; which Eddie made sure to remind him just to mess with the boy. And the meal turned out surprisingly good. Her father didn't push her to talk about her problems and neither did Puck for the rest of their stay, they just enjoyed each other's company. They did some more fishing and Puck finally stopped whining when he caught his first fish.

Not much later, they packed everything and Brittany drove her slightly intoxicated father and a hyperactive Puck back to the city.

It was still early evening when Brittany parked in her father's garage. Shortly after they brought everything upstairs, Puck wobbled to the couch; he might have been more buzzed than she thought.

"Beep, you look tired. Why don't you take a nap, sweetie?" Eddie suggested, the drive having sobered him up quite a bit.

Brittany nodded sleepily; she did feel tired for some reason. Plus she hadn't slept that well on the night before anyway. She entered her old bedroom and shucked off her clothes before climbing into bed; not even bothering to put on her sleeping clothes. Brittany was so worn out, she quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Brittany woke up with a knock on the door, she grumbled something and soon Noah poked his head inside her room. He was carrying a pack of goldfish and a mischievous smile. She already knew he was up to something as soon as she glanced up at him. But she couldn't say no to her favorite crackers.

"Better?" Puck asked as he sat on the bed and passed the goldfish to the hungry blonde. Brittany sat up and started gulfing down the crackers and not letting him have any. She nodded with her mouth full, not even bothering to speak.

"So…" He started and Brittany rolled her eyes, she really saw that one coming. "I was thinking, maybe we could go out or something. I haven't had a night out in ages."

Brittany eyed him carefully. Though, Puck had been away at work, it wasn't like he didn't go out in his nights off. So she wondered how truthful that statement really was. She hummed along as she kept eating the goldfish and didn't give him any comment.

"Come on, B. I bet you haven't been out either."

Brittany groaned in response, she wasn't sure she wanted to go clubbing with her friend. Though, he wasn't wrong; she couldn't remember the last time she went out to a club. She definitely cheered up with such a carefree day, but going out might be too much.

She still hadn't muttered a word so Puck used his own spare methods.

"There will be good music and dancing, Nic." He smirked knowing that would get the blonde's attention. She loved to dance more than anything, if she didn't have such a passion for law enforcement he was sure she would try to make it as a dancer. Maybe in another life time.

Brittany looked up from her goldfish with sudden interest. She had forgotten Puck did choose the best clubs with amazing music. Maybe some dancing could do her some good.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a second before finally relenting "Alright, you sneaky Raccoon."

Puck laughed and did a celebratory first bump on his own that brought a silly smile on his face. Brittany pushed him off the bed laughing.

"Now, get out. I need to change." The blonde waved him off, motioning to the door.

"Don't forget to cover those." He wiggled his eyebrows as he signaled to her bra clad breast. Brittany had totally forgotten she was only wearing her sports bra as her clothes were discarded on the floor.

"OUT, Puck!" She yelled half laughing, half stern.

"Yes, M'lady!" He bowed as he moved backwards to the door, winking as he left the bedroom.

* * *

Hours later after Noah took way longer than Brittany to actually get ready, they took a cab to hit Puckerman's favorite club (of the week apparently). One thing he was right though, the music was indeed great. The bass was pulsating across the club and the walls reverberated the sound straight to Brittany's bones, her body buzzing to dance as soon as she stepped inside.

But first, Puck insisted on a drink. She wasn't driving so she could let loose a little bit. As he passed the drink to her, Brittany remembered his comment about clubbing with Santana in the beginning of the week and downed the drink in one go. She really didn't want to think about that now.

"Damn, girl!" Puck cheered as he already ordered another drink for her.

Brittany sipped at her new drink slowly this time as Noah was already scanning the area for 'hot babes' as he put it. She rolled her eyes at him and dragged the man to the dance floor on the next second. She started slow until she finished her drink, Noah following close as he drank his beer. Once it was done, she closed her eyes and just listened to the beat. Her body started moving before she could even think. She let the music take over.

The blonde vaguely registered Puck trying to keep up with her but she didn't slow down, her movements becoming more precise and fluid. She was letting loose, giving all she got.

Some girl grabbed Noah by the collar and started grinding into him, he stepped farther from Brittany as he grabbed the woman by the hips and started 'dancing', if that's what they call it. Brittany turned away and just kept dancing on her own, not caring even a little bit; it's not like she wasn't dancing by herself before anyway.

A guy tried sneaking up behind her and grab her hips but she moved away from him freeing herself. It wasn't like the doofus could keep up anyway. It felt like the people around her were moving in slow-motion, and she just danced in another reality than them. The buzzing on her body spreading through her veins, the sweat collecting on her brow but she didn't stop or slow down.

She briefly wondered if she was already wasted but she hardly doubted just two drink would do that to her.

Brittany faintly registered the mass of bodies stepping aside and leaving more room for her as she incorporated elements of jazz into her movements. She was in her comfort zone. No worries or hurt. There was only her and music.

Her aching body pleaded for rest after what must have been hours of dancing and Brittany finally left the dance floor to grab a drink and freshen up.

The bartender flirted with her and she smiled her forced smile. She wasn't about to be rude to someone who was managing her drink. Brittany politely thanked the woman for the free drink and disappeared before the bartender could say anything else. She slipped into a quiet booth and slowly enjoyed her fruity drink.

She was watching the people dance in silence when her eyes landed on Puck as he made out with someone as people danced around them. Brittany didn't even realized someone was standing beside her until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Brittany looked up to see a dark girl standing there. She was kind pretty and looked somewhat Hispanic. Her eyes look green from where the blonde was sitting.

She smiled so brightly at Brittany but she just couldn't return it.

Though, that didn't stop the girl from sitting beside her in the booth.

All she could think as the girl open her mouth to talk was how her eyes were too green and her face was just not right. But the truth she tried to deny herself was simply that she was not Santana.

The woman must have noticed Brittany wasn't really into the conversation because she looked slightly annoyed at one point. She reached out to touch the blonde's hand and Brittany flinched in reflex; she couldn't help but subconsciously compare to Santana's soft touch. The woman looked positively pissed now.

"Do you even remember my name?" She asked angrily and Brittany supposed the girl must have introduced herself at some point and she really couldn't remember.

"Eh..." It's the only thing that came out of her mouth. But she wasn't really sad that the girl was leaving with a flip of her flawless long dark hair. Its length was wrong anyway; Santana's was shorter.

The woman who was at the back of her mind all night, was now in full front. Brittany sighed into her empty glass; she knew she would no longer enjoy being here alone.

She texted Puck, and it didn't take long for him to come to her booth, sweaty and with a couple hickeys on his neck. He was smiling like a fool.

"I'm going, Puck."

"But, B…" He might be buzzed but he would recognize her sadden face anywhere.

"No, don't worry about me. I had a lot of fun." She stood up and leaned in to give him a quick kiss to the cheek. "I'm just tired. I'll be home, ok?"

She said goodbye and wished him good luck with whoever he had his eyes set. He kissed her hair and whispered goodbye with promises to hang out on the following day.

"Love ya, Nic!"

She nodded as she headed outside to hail for a cab.

She gave her father's address without hesitation. She would rather just be home for the rest of the night.

* * *

Brittany had just come back from her father's in the Sunday afternoon, and Puck had to go back to his place eventually, even if she knew he would be lounging on her couch soon enough.

She couldn't lie though; it was so good to wake up to her father's pancakes again. The comforting sound of his voice as he sang a Billy Joel's song to her as he prepared the food. She smiled at his silly dance moves and sang along with him. Puck was slumped on the couch, sleeping like a rock and not even their singing disturbed his sleep.

The blonde hadn't had a good morning like that in a while. She didn't really have a hangover; she hadn't drunk that much after all. Though she couldn't say the same about Puck. She just enjoyed her morning with her father before going back to her apartment.

Oddly, she hadn't heard from Cassandra. She didn't really paid attention, as her thoughts were always occupied by a complete different woman. But once Noah had pointed out he hadn't seen 'the bitch' yet, she wondered when was the last time she had seen the woman.

The older blonde had a hectic schedule but she had never been absent for that long, but then again, she might had been at the apartment and Brittany wouldn't even have noticed in the state she was in on the previous week.

She was debating if she should call her roommate when there was a hard knock on the door.

Brittany thought it might be just drunk Cassandra that forgot her key so she opened it right away.

"You?" Brittany's eyes widen. The last person on earth she would expect to see at her front door was there looking at her. She crossed her arms defensively, as she stared at them.

"What are you doing here?" Brittany asked confusion and a twitch of fear evident in her eyes.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

Hello! I loved the amazing response to the last chapter! I don't think I ever got such a big response before. I'm soo relieved you guys liked it and are still with me! Thank you for the input on the last chapter. Most of you were so surprised! :D

I know there wasn't much Brittana in this one, but you all know this is gonna take a lil bit. So patience. Brittany needed to have this time with her family.

Ok, so it has come to my attention by M206, that Puck's nickname might have a derogatory meaning in the US. I'm terribly sorry, I didn't know. So I took the liberty to replace his former childhood nickname for Raccoon from now on, because I don't wanna offend anyone. Again, sorry, I'm not American and English is only my second language.

Since I'm responding to reviews, let me just say to the person who only reviewed in anon to point out there aren't 13th floors in buildings. Even if I'm not american I did my research and no, that's not true. Some buildings do have a 13th floor, even in the US. And since I made the building, I want a 13th floor, so there is a 13th floor. Thank you for your review nonetheless. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Let me thank everyone who took the time to read and review this story and to all the new followers, thank you for choosing this story and I hope you are enjoying, please let me know!

All mistakes as usual are mine.

Sorry about my ramblings, see you next time.

Ducks.


	7. Unexpected Visitor

"_What are you doing here?" _

The tall man stood in from of her with a croaked smirk that just unsettled the blonde. Brittany remembered him all too well. It was the same handsome stranger with dark eyes that drove Santana's car weeks ago.

"It's Aurelio, actually. I'm here because of Santana." He said straight away, noticing the flash of hurt in blue eyes at the mention of Santana's name. Though to his surprise, the girl interrupted his next words with concerned questions.

"Santana? Is she okay? Is she hurt?" Brittany's mindset instantly changed at the mention of Santana's name. She set her hurt feelings aside for a second, as she worried about the girl. Brittany remembered the promise she made to herself that if she saw that man again, she would ask about Santana. And that's exactly what she did. The brunette may have treated her more than poorly and even if she was kicking herself for it, Brittany still cared deeply about the woman and at the very least wanted to know if she was alright.

"She's fine." He said biting his lips, and Brittany suddenly didn't believe him. She questioned him with her gaze, crossing her arms defensively.

Aurelio immediately averted his eyes, avoiding her stare.

"Look, I need to know." He said after a moment, passing his hand anxiously through his perfect hair and pushing back the dark brown locks. "Did something happen with you two?"

Brittany ducked her gaze, as he now fixed his eyes on her. She could feel the heat spreading through her face. She wasn't even sure why she was blushing though; he could mean a number of things with those words and her mind probably went gay to the wrong one. She cleared her throat before asking the man. "W-What do you mean?"

"There's something wrong with her." Aurelio started, and this time Brittany's mind went to the incident on Tuesday. His statement only made her worry about the brunette even more so she waited for him to continue.

"She used to be excited to go to work and would mention a 'Brittany' all the time, but now she refuses to even leave her house, and hasn't been to the office all week." He explained with a forlorn look.

He seemed concerned and Brittany couldn't help and believed him. She worried for Santana's situation, though Brittany felt her blush spreading to her ears at the mention of her own name; a small part of her wondered if perhaps the brunette had been affected by that day in the same way it affected the blonde.

"She's barely eating." He said as an afterthought, bringing Brittany back from her musings.

"Is she sick? She was in a wheelchair." The girl frowned in concern; she just wanted to help Santana.

Aurelio's expression changed though. His eyes widen and he looked taken aback.

"What?" He almost shouted before clearing his throat awkwardly. "You didn't know she was in a wheelchair? How?" He questioned in disbelief, confusion written on his face.

"She was always in her car." Brittany shrugged; it really had never crossed her mind to question it. Then it dawn on her the words he just said.

"So it's not recent?" Brittany bit her lip, fidgeting with her hands as she waited for the response.

"No." He shook his head. "It's been a while. But I think it would be best if she told you about it herself."

Brittany didn't quite know how to deal with the sudden news. She had to process all this information. It's all too much. And the man scrutinizing her with his eyes at the moment wasn't helping her concentrate. How come she didn't realize it? Santana had been wheelchair bound this whole time? Was that why Santana had reacted the way she did?

A small spark of hope flared from within her as she took in his words and the implication that she would have an opportunity to see Santana again. But she still fretted; she didn't know if that's what the brunette wanted.

"How? I don't think she wants to talk to me." Brittany lowered her head, remembering the events of last Tuesday and Santana's harsh words to her.

He narrowed his eyes at her wondering what really went down. "Can you tell me what happened?" He sounded genuine and Brittany didn't have a problem sharing with him the events of that night.

He sighed deeply when she finished, bringing his hand to rub at his face.

"I just don't understand why she was mad at me." Brittany looked muddled and hurt; it reminded him of a kicked puppy. He watched the girl for a feel seconds, appeasing her and pondering his next words.

"She was scared, Brittany."

Brittany's confusion showed on her face. She didn't know what to think of it. Santana? The always confident and charming girl she had come to know was suddenly scared? And of what? Brittany? It didn't make sense.

"It's not in my place to discuss this. But you are the first person she's made friends with since…" He stopped, searching for a word. "You know." Aurelio shrugged before continuing. "She was probably afraid to tell you the truth, since you hadn't realized it yet."

"Why?" She fired the question instantly.

"She is crippled, Brittany." He said matter-of-fatly. Brittany didn't like the way he said it, stiffing at the word and clenching her jaw. Aurelio seemed to notice the change in her stance, so he changed his wording. "Not many people can deal with a disabled person."

Brittany understood what he meant, she didn't think a situation like that would be easy on anyone but the blonde still didn't like his comment. She just stared blankly at the tall man, inwardly judging him.

"Here," He seemed uncomfortable with the sudden silence and handed her a piece of paper. "I know where you live. It's only fair you know where she lives."

She took the paper hesitantly. Her mind was still in turmoil. Did that implied he lived with Santana? He hadn't mentioned his relation to Santana through the whole conversation and he thought Brittany was only her friend. How did he even find out Brittany's address in the first place? She wanted to be really crept out; and she kind of was, but she had just found out a way to reach the brunette, and she didn't know how to feel about that.

Even with her suspicions towards him, there was just something in his eyes. Something familiar about them, and it felt clear to her that he only had Santana's best interest in mind.

Aurelio gave her a small smile before he turned away and left before she could ask any of the questions she had in mind.

* * *

Monday morning arrived sooner than Brittany thought. Early morning she was already at work, clocking it. Shortly after, she was putting her duffel bag in her locker when someone patted her on the back.

"Morning, Brittany." David greeted her politely. He didn't look like a morning person; he had a crease in his brows as he downed a large cup of coffee in big gulps. Quinn was right next to him and greeted her as well. The shorter blonde on the other hand seemed fine in the morning, her hair already flawlessly brushed, make up in place and a cocky smile as she bragged about her fiancé.

"He is also captain of the water polo team, you know? He's so busy but he balances it so well, even while being pre-med." She gushed as she looked herself in the mirror, fixing an already perfect eyebrow. Karofsky just nodded grumpily, not really hearing what she was saying.

In her time working at Aurea Enterprises, Brittany had come to learn that while Quinn could be nice and easy to converse with, the woman could also get into a self-absolved haze from time to time, and it seemed to be the case today. Brittany brushed it off most of the time. But sometimes she could swear the woman had a split personality or something.

Glancing at the immaculate blonde hair elegantly framing the woman's face and her arrogant air of today, Brittany remembered her missing roommate. Somehow she had completely forgotten about Cassandra on the previous day. She couldn't help it though. After Aurelio left, she just retreated to her room to ponder about Santana.

It didn't faze her in the slightest that Santana was higher in her list of priorities.

It was still too early though so she couldn't possibly call Cassandra, at least not just yet; because more than likely the older blonde wouldn't even pick up the phone. She would just have to remember to make that call later on during the day.

Brittany really wanted to check on the parking lot, just to know about a certain brunette but her schedule wouldn't allow it. Her shift today consisted of securing the fifth floor again and its nearing floors with Karofsky. She might as well stay away from the parking lot anyway; she wouldn't be able to do her job properly.

Puck did such a good job comforting her and those days spent with her dad and him were really refreshing. Brittany was doing considerably better, she had her mind set that she would move on and let it go; it was better that way. But then the Aurelio guy just had to show up. Why couldn't he just let Brittany be? Now she was more confused than ever; though he did give her the opportunity to reach out to Santana one more time…

The sound of footsteps brought her out of her musings. She looked up from the floor to see Dave approaching her with a smile. She returned the smile extending her hand for a small first bump greeting.

He touched her balled up fist, and laughed at the greeting. Dave was a completely different person when there weren't many people around. At the early hour, there wasn't anyone at the fifth floor yet, so he was free to be himself and act silly. So was Brittany. Contrary to when they were in work mode, silent and concentrated; their job was to guard and to do so one must look intimidating and professional.

"I see you look better, Brittany." Dave kindly observed with a timid smile.

Brittany looked down at herself self-consciously; she didn't know that other people had noticed her somber demeanor. Even at her workplace, first Ryder and now David.

It briefly crossed her mind that this was another reason for her to get over it sooner rather than later.

David watched her for a moment as the woman seemed in deep thought. "But you still seem troubled. You ok?"

His comment caught Brittany completely off guard, was she really that transparent or was he just that perceptive? She did consider him her friend by now, and he was surprisingly easy to talk to, despite his rough exterior.

She had no problem being honest with him, but even if she was being truthful she was just not sure. "I don't know."

David moved closer to her as the last people arrived at the floor and passed by their station. He waited until the hall was empty again before addressing her. "Wanna talk about it?"

Brittany glanced up from where she was staring at her feet to see the look of genuine concern on her friend's face. But the blonde truly didn't know. There was too many things in her mind.

"I'm not sure." She mumbled, almost to herself.

David waited patiently, as Brittany seemed to gather her thoughts.

"I'm sort of confused." She muttered after a while, but he was close enough to hear it.

"I know some things confuse me. Like, Breakfast; it can be salty or sweet but it's still not a dessert. Or the fact Uncle Scrooge never died when he dived into his golden coins." She said with a frown on her face. "But this…situation is a whole other thing."

"Okay." David stood closer to her, his close proximity comforting her even without the touch. He waited for a moment longer, and she eventually spoke quietly.

"I like someone." She started, Dave croaked a smile, but she didn't really notice as she continued. "We get along really well. But…" She bit her lip remembering Santana. "Since, an incident last week, they haven't talked to me or showed up. I have so many questions about her and that day but I had no way of reaching her."

Brittany very much appreciated the fact Karofsky respected her vagueness and didn't ask what the incident was, that she didn't even realize she let the pronoun slip from her lips.

"I know the feel. I went through something similar when he dumped me." He automatically replied without thinking.

"_He_, uh?"

Karofsky looked embarrassed and awkward for letting it slip. His face turning bright red as he didn't know what to do next.

"Don't worry, Dave." Brittany reassured him with a bump to his shoulder. "It's not like I didn't know before." She shrugged casually and sent him a wink. He looked at her in surprise, but didn't seem to mind that she knew about his sexuality.

He cleared his throat after a moment, and went back to the subject. "So, what did _she_ do next?" The emphasis on the pronoun just to let Brittany know he had heard her too.

"Nothing." Her voice with an air of sadness as her shoulders slumped. "But a man, who knows her, showed up at my place. He kinda explained to me why she might have acted the way she did and gave me her address."

He didn't ask the obvious questions or pry like Brittany expected people to do, he just listened to her and hummed along; taking everything in.

"And now I don't know what to do." She finished her explanation dejectedly.

Karofsky nodded and patted her shoulder, thinking to himself for a moment before wetting his lips and giving his opinion on the matter. "The way I see it. You'll never get the answers to the questions you have if you don't at least try it."

He looked sympathetically at her and rubbed comfortably at her arm. "Either way, at least you'll get some closure."

Brittany nodded along, but didn't say anything.

Their silence was interrupted by a blonde woman asking them for directions to the fourteenth floor. She was tall, fit and quite pretty in Brittany's opinion.

Brittany explained to the woman how the floor was restricted and after she insisted, Karofsky radioed Ryder to meet them at the lobby to check her credentials. He politely directed her to the elevator; he waved at Brittany before disappearing behind the closing doors.

The blonde spent at least another hour alone, though as per instruction she didn't miss her obligatory round at the third and fourth floor before Karofsky came back with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry." It was the first thing David said as he approached her. "That lady took way longer than I expected." He sighed, and Brittany wondered what had happened. "She's Ryder's problem now." He chuckled, inadvertently making a little wiggle with his body.

He turned to Brittany and caught her stifling a giggle while looking at him "What?" David asked feeling rather self-conscious.

"Nothing, Dave." She said smirking, and waited a bit before asking. "So you dance?"

"W-what?" He snapped his heard back to her, stuttering in surprise.

"Come on, Dave. I saw you dancing the other day when you thought you were alone. And you just did a little pretty wiggle even if you didn't notice."

His face flushed red at her words; Brittany didn't think she ever saw him that red before.

"Yeah, I kinda like dancing. But…" He looked down, kicking at nothing with his foot.

"But what?"

"I'm too embarrassed to go to an actual lesson." David answered miserably, his face still bright red.

"You shouldn't." Brittany encouraged, bumping his arm with her shoulder due to the height difference. "You have potential from the little I saw."

David glaned up at the blonde disbelievingly and shrugged, looking down shyly at the ground once again.

"What do you say I help you with a couple lessons? I'm no pro or anything but it could be fun." Brittany suggested with a bright smile. She hadn't danced in a while; if she didn't count Saturday night and she missed actually practicing in a real studio.

David stared back at her in surprise with his mouth agape but wasn't able to say anything back.

"My roommate trains at a studio near our apartment and the owner is super nice and lets me use one of the rooms from time to time." She explained it to him.

"Ok, deal!" He nodded, bouncing a bit on his feet and Brittany had a feeling he was containing his own excitement.

"Awesome. I'll text you the address later." Brittany already had his number so it wouldn't be a problem scheduling a session later.

"Oh," Korofsky seemed to remember something. "Hey, what's…"

"Fifth Floor, report for headquarters." The static stern voice of a woman cut off his question. The frequency told Brittany it was coming from the security headquarters.

"Oh, it seems Shelby is in a bad mood." Karofsky commented, making a grimace, before pressing the button on his radio to respond. "Karofsky and Pierce reporting from the fifth floor." Brittany waited by his side, paying close attention to any order that might come.

"Possible disturbance at the eighth. We need an officer to report back to us." Shelby said over the radio, her voice sounded annoyed. Brittany never had the opportunity to actually meet the woman before but her co-workers and especially Quinn had mentioned her a few times. The petit blonde didn't have the nicest things to say about older woman, but even her had to admit that Shelby was professional and got the job done, which was the most important thing in any company.

"Officer coming up. Over and Out." Karofsky radioed back.

"So who is going?" Dave thought aloud bringing a hand to his closely shaved chin. "It's the eighth floor, B" He teased giving her a wicked smirk.

They narrowed their eyes at each other and as the silence proceeded, each brought a hand behind their backs.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!" They both said in unison as each made a sign with their hands.

Brittany's balled up fist beat Karofsky scissor, so the blonde celebrated bumping him with her fist a few times.

"You suck, D!" She teased punching him in the shoulder.

Oh wait.

She stopped for a moment and realized how that must have sounded.

She looked up at him and both stared at each other for a brief second before they busted out laughing at the same time. Brittany was glad he wasn't offended with it; she still wasn't sure how comfortable he was with his sexuality.

"I have to call someone, anyway. Get going, Donkey Kong." She joked and sent him a wink. He laughed at the nickname as he exited their station and went to the elevator, heading for the dreaded eighth floor.

Brittany still had to call Cassandra first to know of her whereabouts but her mind couldn't help but wander to a certain brunette once again. What Karofsky said really made a lot of sense. Despite Brittany convincing herself to forget during the weekend; even with that feeling of unsteady, yesterday Aurelio had given her the opportunity to see Santana again. It didn't matter if the woman didn't want to date Brittany, be her friend or even see her, she still wanted to try and talk to her; perhaps get some answers. Santana still intrigued her, and she couldn't deny it. Brittany would reach out, she needed the closure, she just hoped Santana would want to see her.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

So another chapter is done! Some of you were spot on about who it was at the door!

I'm not sure I liked how this chapter turned out. So I would love to hear you guys opinion on it. A lot happened in it but believe me all of it was necessary. It's all planned and part of the story. I can guarantee Santana on the next one though and I think you'll like it.

If you are having Brittana withdraws in your life while you wait, you can always check out my other story that just updated Luck of the Almost Irish. *shameless promotion*

Thank you for the wonderful reviews and all the new followers too! Wish I could reply to the awesome guest reviews I get. Just know that you are very appreciated too.

Please let me know what you guys thought, it's my birthday so be nice though. Also if you have the time, vote on the poll on my profile page, it's for science ;)

All mistakes as usual are mine.

Ducks.


	8. Just Another day, Or Not

"Oe, Santana get your ass up!" Aurelio shouted as he barged in Santana's room, with no regard to the sleeping brunette in the dark room.

"Shut up!" The woman grumbled from under the covers of her king-size bed. He eyed the hidden form protected by a thick comforter right in the middle of the bed with a frown, assuming that was Santana.

"Come on, Santana," he tugged at the comforter with a whiney voice that didn't fit his serious face, professional attire and stylish hair. "You need to get out of here eventually."

Santana groaned loudly burying herself further into her bed. "I said shut it, Auri!" she said, throwing one of her over-sized pillows blindly in his direction; which wasn't hard for him to dodge by simply taking a step to the side with an unimpressed look.

"You only want me for work!" she whined against a pillow but still loud enough for Aurelio to hear.

"Well, maybe…" he sighed as he looked at the pile of clothes spread over the floor and even the bed and shook his head.

Aurelio wanted to step closer; maybe even take a glance at her and see her current state, but there was a big chance he would get hit by a number of things she could throw at him, so he just kept his distance for now. He watched her for a moment as the lump rose up and down with her breathing, noticing the few strands of dark hair spilling out from the top of the comforter that covered all of her.

"You still haven't told me what happened," his concerned whisper filled the silent room.

"Dun wanna," she mumbled, not making any effort to move from her position. Santana felt slightly guilty for not telling him, she knew he wanted what was best for her, but she just wanted to be left alone for now. And it wasn't any of his business anyway.

"Ok, ok," he resigned, pulling his hair back in a nervous habit. "But tomorrow is Tuesday, Tana. And you already missed today."

Santana had enough of his constant yapping, craning her neck from under the covers to stare irritably at the tall man.

"Why do you always want me out of the house?" She pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Do you have some nefarious plan to execute while I'm not around?"

He laughed, showing his perfect white teeth. Aurelio was used to Santana's unusual humor and decided to just brush off the possibility she might actually mean that.

"Just want what's best for you, hottie." Aurelio smirked her way and Santana rolled her eyes and threw another pillow at him, just because. He caught the pillow just before it hit his perfect face though and looked offended at the gesture. He analyzed her for a second before adding an afterthought. "And you might need a haircut."

Santana pulled a few strands from her hair and winced at the dreadful looking split ends and lack of a proper cut. She hated when Aurelio was right.

"And you need to stop wearing too much make up, Auri." She retorted back. Sure, he used make up; probably more than any straight guy she knew but it wasn't THAT much. Santana just couldn't think of a better come back right now and she just couldn't let him have that win.

He not so subtly touched his face, clearly feeling self-conscious.

Aurelio waited for the woman to settle back in bed with a satisfied smile and snuggle her biggest pillow stubbornly, ignoring his presence before he spoke up again.

"Holly visited."

Santana shot up from her bed in a hurry, looking expectantly at him. Aurelio snickered at her agitated state as he leaned on the door frame with a smug look.

"What did she say?" Santana cringed, preparing herself for the answer. But not failing to send the man her best annoyed look.

"Luckily we have another two months, so Get. Your Ass. Moving," he reprimanded her, putting emphasis on each word for effect and Santana rolled her eyes for the hundredth time, getting tired of this shit.

"The deadline was already pushed back. You know that," his voice was stern and it only annoyed her further. He was in business mode and unfortunately she had to take him seriously. And the worst of all, abide by him.

She flopped on the bed with a huff and a groan of disapproval.

There was a moment of silence before Aurelio ruined any professional imagine he had. "She's so hot though. I do like a milf," he said dreamily.

It was probably a poor attempt at lighting up the mood.

"Ugh, go away," she waved him off miserably.

"Ok, I will," he still wore a sly smile, and gave a light chuckle at her gesture. "But I'm leaving this right here."

He stepped closer and placed 2 flash drives at the foot of the bed, giving her a look.

"And what's that?" she peeked an eye open and looked at Aurelio.

"Update on all the projects," he pointed to the small regular silver flash drive lying on the bed. Santana sat up again and quirked an eyebrow, glancing curiously at the other one - a smooth black metal plaque, slightly bigger than the silver one.

"And this is… You know," he trailed off, waving at the polished dark flash drive.

"Encrypted?" She stretched to pick both of them and analyze their familiar shape.

"Yeah," he responded, already looking bored and inching closer to the door.

"Hope it wasn't you," Santana joked, placing the flash drives on her nightstand.

"Yeah, like I know how to do that. Ha ha," he laughed sarcastically. She never failed to remind him that he couldn't code to save his life. It wasn't his job anyway, it felt below him and he mostly didn't care.

"No, it was Shelby," he provided with a shrug.

"Good," Santana nodded looking over at the hardware. Knowing who did it would let her know what protocol they had used for the standard encryption.

"Do your work from here, I don't care," he turned to his business mode and Santana felt like punching him again. "Just fucking get it done." She knew it was necessary and he was probably under a lot of pressure but she still hated taking orders from him.

Aurelio turned playful again and added with a smirk, "just don't forget to shower. It stinks in here."

"Fuck you," Santana said flipping him off, she would have thrown her biggest pillow, but it was too precious to her to be wasted on this douche.

"Love you too," he said waving her off. He had an annoying sly smirk that made Santana want to throw her very heavy lamp at him, just to get it off his stupid infuriating face. She swore the man could sometimes change moods as often as a pregnant woman.

She heard the click of the door, and slumped back in place; hoping and praying to fall back asleep. Santana actually tried for a while, but it was too late by now. Sleep was the last thing on her mind at the moment. Morning was almost over anyway so she might as well get up and do something productive.

With an annoyed groan, Santana dragged herself out of her oh-so-comfortable covers. She sat on the edge of the bed, stretching her arms and checking on her motionless legs before putting on her robe and stuffing the flash drives in her pocket before she could forget about them. The chair she used around the house was at her bedside and she brought it closer so she could transfer herself to it. With a bit of effort, she was in her light but comfortable chair and she quickly adjusted her legs in a normal position before rolling herself out of her room, avoiding discarded clothes on the way.

She did have an electric chair but she mostly used it for work. Santana preferred the somewhat freedom to just roll around the house on her own, plus it was some form of workout without her having to hit her home gym; which she didn't intended to do any time soon.

It was Santana's routine by now, but one she was tired of doing every day.

She rolled through the hallway and passed by the large staircase she no longer used. She looked up at the imposing stairs, before shrugging off her somber thoughts.

The house was immaculate; everything was well-ordered and spotless. She thought about the contrast between her room and office to the rest of her clean house and how appalling it was. It felt like a completely different place or even reality. Santana felt sort of guilty, she was being such a pig lately. She guessed the house keeper, Imelda, stopped by while she vegetated in her room to clean the house.

Imelda was the former housekeeper in Santana's parent's house and the older woman had taken care of her since she was a little girl. She knew the brunette probably better than her parents. She was used to Santana's moods and made her French toast with hash brown to break into Santana's defenses. It was Santana's secret weakness that only the older woman knew.

Despite that, no one was allowed in Santana's office or room without her supervision, so she was pleased to see that the door to her office still remained tightly shut. Imelda would never disrespect her in such manner. She liked Santana too much, spoiling her more than she should, really.

Santana got to the kitchen, feeling useless at remembering her weekend. It wasn't like she hadn't worked since last Tuesday but she had to admit she didn't do absolutely anything during her weekend. Of course, by peer pressure she had worked from home for the rest of last week, because she did have a schedule and deadline to maintain but to be honest, the weekend was just a hazy blur to her. Luckily for Santana, her position in the company allowed her to work from home without any problem, and Auri would make sure people kept any complaints about that to themselves.

She rolled her eyes remembering Aurelio's poor attempt at cheering her up on Friday by suggesting a stripper party. Yeah, like that's what Santana needed. All he got in response was a sharp pain in his leg as Santana 'accidentally' ran into him, and the threat that if he ever brought strippers or prostitutes to her house, he would be a dead man; she was very much aware he would never just hire strippers in the first place.

Rolling her way to the counter, Santana put a new batch of coffee grains in one of her most the treasured possessions, her coffee machine. It was massive and it ground and prepared the coffee any way one might prefer; in Santana's case making the most delicious and strong coffee she ever tasted. She much preferred getting her coffee from her house than anywhere else or some lame coffee place with ridiculous orders that were more like tongue twisters.

Santana stared at its beauty for a minute as she waited for it to make her perfect coffee, before she rolled to another counter that was purposely at her level, like most of her furniture, and clicked on a screen attached to it. The brunette pushed a button at the side of the counter to reveal a hidden keyboard. Sure Santana could just use a virtual one, since it was touch screen but she's old fashioned like that, and to be honest she hated those damn virtual keyboards. She quickly browsed the operational system through a command prompt to access the computer in her home office.

The woman was half way through checking her emails when the coffeemaker let her know that it was done with a soft beeping sound; it was nearly music to her ears.

Santana was certain if Imelda was home, she would insist on making her awesome French toast with bacon but in her absence, Santana was just not in the mood to make breakfast, nor have the patience for it. So she stuck to her coffee and got her biggest mug from the already lower level cabinet and settled it in her chair's attached cup holder, filling with strong freshly ground coffee.

Soon she was at her office, opening the door with its only key and entered the surprisingly clean room. When was the last time she came here? Santana could barely remember, oh yeah, Friday. Or was it Thursday? Whatever anyway.

A cup of coffee lying on her desk proved Imelda hadn't set foot in the place, but the emptiness of the room stated how often it was actually used by its owner. Santana adjusted herself by the desk and turned her computer on, patiently passing through the protocol of her password and fingerprint as it was requested.

Apparently Santana had three pending voice mails from Tina. Or at least that's what Tina ranted about in her email. Santana may or may not be avoiding checking her phone because of a particular blonde who spent last week texting and calling her.

She felt horrible for what she did and for ignoring the girl. She didn't think Brittany would ever forgive her; she didn't think she deserved her forgiveness either. But Santana couldn't help but be afraid of what Brittany might say on the phone; she was not ready for that type of rejection so she'd rather distance herself. She never saw the blonde angry but she certainly gave the woman enough reason to feel that way. It broke her heart when she saw Brittany that upset last Tuesday, she regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth, but she couldn't take them back. Though it was such an automatic reaction for Santana; for her walls to build up again around her at feeling exposed, that she ended up snapping at the one person she never wanted to.

Her mood was turning foul as her mind recollected people's reactions to her condition and she imagined different scenarios of Brittany dealing with it; each scenario turning darker than the other.

Pity.

Rejection.

Betrayal.

Disgust.

Santana felt like crying again, and forced her mind to focus on the computer in front of her, finally checking her last email. With a bored sigh she started checking on the projects she was supervising in the silver flash drive; though it was still better than continuing her self-deprecating party.

Some people used emails, but it was company policy that every exchange of code was done through pre-approved company flash drives to avoid any breach of information.

It didn't take long for her to be done; her job really was just to oversee them. Her main priority at the moment was still sitting heavily in her robe's pocket.

Santana spent minutes looking at the black metal plaque in her hands but still had no will to do her work just yet.

She brought her mug to her lips only to realize it was already empty. She put the mug down with a huff and only now noticed that Auri might have been right. The brunette may need a shower after all. Ugh.

Santana briefly stopped by her room to get some clothes and as she looked over the place she thought yeah, maybe it would be good to call Imelda to clean her room too.

She rolled to the bathroom, looking briefly at the bathtub in the corner; she couldn't remember the last time she used the overly large bathtub. Santana usually tried to ignore its presence altogether since she couldn't use it - at least not by herself. But Santana wasn't willing to let anyone help; she could handle it on her own.

The shower was short but effective. They always lasted too long even when she didn't want them to. The time it took to move herself to her bath chair and roll under the shower had always bothered her. Her useless legs and the reminder of her actions lay staring at her when she scrubbed herself, only making her scrub harder on the tender flesh of her scars. The sensitive and scarred skin didn't hurt as much as it used to, but the image was always enough to make her feel a sort of pain.

Santana finished her shower as quickly as her strength allowed it. Everything was adjusted to her sitting height and at her reach for her comfort. She shampooed her hair and scrubbed her skin, vehemently avoiding looking down unless she had to. Santana took the time to massage her legs after she was done to avoid cramps; she massaged them looking straight ahead as her fingers undid the little knots under her skin she could no longer feel.

She hated feeling the bumps in her skin even as she massaged it. Her left thigh, carrying the biggest scars that went up to her hip and connected to her back. Santana was almost thankful she couldn't see her own back - the markings on her lower back made larger by the incision that saved her life. She should be thankful really. But it didn't stop that every time she touched the mattered skin, her eyes stung and her throat closed up at the reminder.

* * *

It was not until she was fully dressed in sweat pants and a shirt that she returned to her office, tying her hair in a bun because she really had no time or will to blow dry it.

Already back in her comfortable chair, she sat in her office playing idly with her glasses as the encrypted flash drive was uploaded onto her main computer. Santana knew Shelby's protocol so it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes for it load.

Santana knew SANGOLD 1-34 was important, it was the most high profile software her team ever made and perfected. And it wouldn't wait for her to get out of her funk. They signed a contract and now they must deliver the product within the given time.

The brunette wished she could postpone it though. For a brief moment she wondered what it would be like to quit, just to see some assholes losing their shit. The thought alone was delightful. But Santana knew that some things were bigger than her and her problems. Plus, she was very much aware that the consequences would most likely be bigger than an unsatisfied client.

The file finally loaded completely and Santana sighed miserably, cringing at the sight of her last piece of coding. It was a mess at best, possibly a reflection of her state when she wrote it. She spent most of the time just correcting the ridiculous and sometimes simple mistakes she had made before.

Apparently none of her co-workers had the balls to even mess with her part or point out its defects as they sent their own parts to her. She would have to have a talk with the dumbasses. Santana was already preparing a verbal smack down for the following day because even if she indeed was in charge of the project, it was essential that there weren't any errors in it, regardless of who made them.

Santana finally managed to make some progress after fixing the latest bugs. She only realized how late it really was when she thought she heard a knock on her front door. The brunette glanced at her clock to be informed she had been sitting at her desk for about six hours now, which reminded her that she should probably get a snack or something even if she wasn't hungry. Imelda would know if she didn't eat anything again. Santana huffed as she remembered but secretly appreciated the woman's concern and care for her.

The doorbell rang this time, and now she was sure it wasn't her imagination. Before she could even roll out of the office, it rang again and Santana now had a feeling that Aurelio was just messing with her. It was probably his annoying little way to get her out of bed, and she did not appreciate it one bit.

For a second she thought it might be Imelda, but the housekeeper had her own key and would probably call before coming. Plus she never got here in the evening, always arriving at early morning before Santana was even up.

She heard another ring of the doorbell and her already thin patience ran out. Seriously it couldn't be anyone but the douche or perhaps a lost Jehovah's Witness. And she wasn't a fan of either option. She would kick his perfectly tanned ass so bad he would no longer be able to sit afterwards. Seriously, there was a hundred other ways to get someone out of bed.

Santana rolled herself to the front door swiftly, briefly wondering if picking up her baseball bat was too much. Maybe next time, it was too far away now anyway. Santana slammed the door open with a disgruntled huff, not because it was heavy but because she was beyond stressed and worked up.

"Auri! Will you fucking leave me alone!?" Santana shouted out as soon as the door hit the wall with a loud thud. Her eyes widened in surprise and utter disbelief as she realized who it actually was.

"Hi" Brittany ventured with an awkward wave. And Santana just wanted to die. She felt a mixture of emotions she couldn't even begin to explain.

There Brittany was, looking shy and perfect as if Santana hadn't just yelled at her. Her hair down and straight; Santana had barely seen the woman's hair down and now she supposed the blonde resembled a heavenly creature, especially with the light of the sunset touching the side of her delicate face and blending in with her golden hair. Brittany was wearing a simple dress. Had Santana ever seen Brittany in one? Definitely not. She might have crashed her car into the gate of the building if she had. It wasn't in any way provocative, but she still looked sexy yet adorable at the same time. It was a loose white dress with animal prints (_was that a zebra?_) and a lighter brown belt with knee high socks and a black thin headband over her long, shiny blonde hair. It fit her personality perfectly, just as it did her body.

She thought the view of such marvel should be forbidden and restricted to few people, yet here Santana was, undignified, sitting in her chair and looking at her with her mouth agape at the most amazing view in the world.

The moment of silence stretched as Santana just gaped at the blonde. She took way too long because soon, Santana heard a soft quiet voice breaking the awkward silence.

"It's Brittany." Santana looked up at the girl as she bit down at her lip nervously. She looked doubtful and maybe hurt and Santana just wondered how unfair it was that someone could still look so beautiful and adorable even then.

"I-I know." She finally mumbled back with a nod. She self-consciously touched her hair, remembering how sloppily she was dressed but sighed, relenting to her situation. She looked down at her motionless legs for a moment before facing Brittany again. Her face blank.

"How…Nevermind. What are you…?" She stumbled through her wording before clearing her throat and trying it again.

"What do you want, Brittany?" Santana's defenses coming back and walls closing up on her.

What was Brittany even doing here? How did she find out her address? Was she here to pity her? She probably felt bad Santana was disabled and wanted to do something. Brittany was a good person; wonderful really, and Santana knew that. She wouldn't outright say she was disgusted with Santana's situation and even if she was remotely interested before, she definitely wasn't anymore; probably didn't even want to be her friend after the way Santana blew up on her last week.

Santana definitely at least owed her an apology and she was willing to give her one, even if she wasn't used to apologizing; Brittany deserved that much. But she didn't want Brittany's pity. She didn't need anyone's pity, Santana was too prideful. She defensively crossed her arms in front of her, preparing herself for whatever the blonde planned on saying about her condition.

Brittany was silent, she seemed nervous but Santana wasn't backing down as she waited. The blonde matched her intense stare and Santana faltered in her resolve as the woman in front of her seemed determined.

Santana was expecting a number of things to come out of the Brittany's mouth but she could never predict the words that followed the extended silence.

"Go out with me!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

**Edited: **My new beta leeluvzya did some editing on this chapter. :)

Ta da! :D That was unexpected. Not my fault, it's all Britt's.

I know some of you were frustrated with the last chapter and that reflects on the amount of feedback, I understand. But let me remind again that is a slowburn and everything, even every conversation has a purpose to the story. I promised some Santana for this chapter and I kept my part. Most of this chapter was for you guys to get a feel on her life and see her POV, don't worry there's more to come. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

This chapter took a little longer because it was pretty tricky to write, especially with a different POV, so I hope you all liked it.

Thank you for your reviews and follows everyone is super awesome and I appreciate it so much! I can't believe we got to 100 reviews, it's just amazing! thank you for the feedback and I also love reading about all your theories, even the anons, you guys are great! And I completely agree, anon, I can't wait for Brittana to wheel off into the sunset. :D

So I'm looking forward to reading what you all thought of this chapter.

If anyone is interested, I did a little art on Brittany's apartment, if you wanna check out here is the address: (without spaces)

bet-the-ducks-in-the-heya . tumblr tagged/return-to-yourself

If you haven't, please vote on the poll on my profile page, it's for science ;)

Ducks.


	9. A Different Side

Getting out of her truck, Brittany walked through the front yard. She gazed at the large house ahead of her anxiously, but with a spark of determination. The blonde eyed the prominent porch and noticed the ramp leading up to it on the side. It looked fairly new. The house was surprisingly big and daunting. She hadn't expected Santana to live in such a large house in what appeared to be a family neighborhood.

She climbed the short flight of steps to the porch and stood outside the hefty wooden door. Brittany braced herself before knocking on Santana's front door. She waited but there was no response. The blonde tried the doorbell this time. She waited another moment, but there was still no answer. She rang it again. Brittany wondered if anyone was inside. Maybe Santana wasn't home? But that Aurelio guy had said she hadn't left her house in days. Was he telling the truth? Despite the things he said, he really seemed to care for Santana. Brittany didn't get the feeling he would just make all of that up.

She wondered again about his involvement with Santana before she forced that thought aside as she rang the doorbell again.

Seconds passed and Brittany heard a faint noise on the other side of the door and her heart sped up in anticipation. Before long the door slammed open, startling the blonde.

A disgruntled Santana appeared with her chair rattling after she'd rolled quickly to the door. "Auri! Will you fucking leave me alone!?"

The brunette startled and Brittany could see her face changing from irritation to utterly surprised in realization when her eyes fell on the blonde. Brittany noticed the woman was only wearing grey and black sweats with her hair tied in a messy bun. There were visible bags under her eyes, and Brittany saw the tiredness in them and the hint of sadness in her slump of her shoulders. The blonde forlornly wondered why that was, but the other part of her couldn't help but think Santana still looked absolutely beautiful.

"Hi," Brittany timidly muttered with a wave of her hand. Silence followed her single word as Santana just looked at her, her eyes still wide and her mouth parted. The blonde wondered what was going through her mind.

Brittany nervously shifted from one foot to the other, asking herself why Santana hadn't showed any reaction whatsoever.

"It's Brittany," she broke the silence, biting her lower lip. Her insecurities made her slightly afraid and even hurt at the possibility that Santana had forgotten her already.

The woman finally looked up, locking brown eyes with her own as she came out of her trance.

"I-I know," Santana nodded seemingly to herself as she briefly touched the bun at the top of her head, collecting a few loose strands and putting them behind her ear. She released a deep sigh and moved her gaze back to her lap. Brittany patiently waited for the woman as she seemed to gather her thoughts.

When Santana lifted her head back to look at Brittany something had changed, her expression was now void of any emotion. But even then, Santana had a hard time finding the right words.

"How… Never mind. What are you…?"

Brittany held in a chuckle at how cute she looked even while confused. The brunette cleared her throat after her failed attempt and tried again.

"What do you want, Brittany?" Santana seemed to finally get her bearings and she looked defiantly at the blonde with her arms crossed as she waited for Brittany's response.

Brittany felt her nerves getting the best of her, and the intimating look the brunette was giving her wasn't helping one bit.

But she had come all this way, and she wasn't giving up now.

She had so many questions, so many things she wanted to ask the woman in front of her. Brittany wanted to ask how Santana was doing, she was concerned about the girls' wellbeing and it was just inevitable; even if she had probably already missed her cue in the conversation. Brittany wanted to ask why the brunette had reacted the way she did last Tuesday and most importantly why the woman had never mentioned her disability; why she felt the need to omit that information from the blonde.

Brittany stubbornly locked blue eyes with brown and she could see Santana's gaze faltering under her intense look. The next words that left her mouth, however, surprised both of them.

"Go out with me!"

She said it louder than she intended. Brittany felt the heat spreading from her neck all the way to her ears. She hoped it hadn't sounded that bad, she hadn't intended to blurt that out but the words just spilled from her lips before she could do anything. Sure, she would love to go out with Santana but there was so much she wanted to talk over with the woman before anything. Plus, she didn't even know if Santana wanted to be her friend anymore and there she went jumping the gun by being too forward.

"What?!" Santana nearly yelled back, her eyes the size of pancakes.

"I wan-nna," Brittany fidgeted her hands nervously, trying to correct her mistake. But she didn't really want to backtrack. Even if she had blurted out, she still meant every word.

"I mean, I want to go out with you. I do. But I want to talk to you first, if that's ok," she added, not trying to impose on the woman. She waited a bit and Santana still hadn't responded. So Brittany searched those brown eyes before stuttering.

"C-Can we talk?"

"I guess," Santana sighed, giving the blonde a brief nod. The least Brittany deserved was a conversation and a proper explanation from her. She rolled backwards and spun her chair around, allowing Brittany to enter her house. Santana entered the spacious living room and motioned to the sofa nearby for Brittany to sit.

Brittany was so nervous; she barely registered how nice Santana's house was on the inside. Everything looked so clean and posh, not to mention her entire apartment probably fit in the woman's living room. It wasn't extravagant or anything - the décor was rather simple - but anyone could tell it was good quality and probably expensive furniture. Though Brittany did notice the presence of a large staircase before she entered the living room and for a moment wondered how or if Santana used it at all.

She nervously took a seat in the dark couch, sinking into its softness and taking comfort in it. Brittany didn't want to sit too close and make Santana uncomfortable, so she settled for sitting almost in the middle to give the woman some space as she rolled up closely to the couch.

"I guess you want some answers," Santana started. She really couldn't look Brittany in the eye, though.

Brittany nodded with a satisfied smile even if Santana wasn't looking at her. "I'd like that."

"Ok, shoot," Santana sat back in her chair trying to sound nonchalant, even if she clearly was still on edge.

Brittany took a deep breath to calm herself. She considered the things she had planned on asking in the first place and thought about what she should ask first.

"Are we friends?" she enquired, tilting her head to the side in genuine wonder.

The question seemed to surprise the brunette and she was speechless for a few seconds before shyly nodding her head. Brittany thought she saw her cheeks color for a brief moment but didn't say anything.

Brittany mirrored the nod in acknowledgement and cleared her throat before hesitantly asking, "did I…Did I do something wrong?"

Santana looked up with a confused frown as the blonde gazed sadly at her.

"I'm sorry if I upset you last week," Brittany continued, looking down at her lap as she fidgeted her hands. "I was just doing my job and…" she trailed off when Santana held up a hand and shook her head resolutely in denial.

"No, Britt. You didn't do anything," her expression was dejected, and it only puzzled Brittany further.

"I'm sorry, Brittany. I shouldn't have treated you like that," Santana finally let out the words that had been saved up for a week now. Something she had wanted to say as soon as the harsh words came out of her mouth.

Brittany noticed the brunette's stiff posture and how hard it seemed for Santana to mutter those words. She didn't seem like someone who apologized often, but Brittany appreciated the gesture.

There was silence for a few moments and Santana didn't dare look up from her legs.

Her words reassured the blonde that she hadn't done anything wrong, and the part of her that had been mad at Santana for the way she had acted resurfaced with that information. But Brittany would still give the woman the benefit of the doubt, she had come for answers after all and it was clear it was a sensitive subject for the brunette, so Brittany would grant her time.

Santana kept her gaze downwards and her hands gripped at the armrests of her chair, it didn't seem like she was going to elaborate any further. Brittany softened at the sight and tentatively spoke.

"San," she started softly; she wanted to reach out and touch the tan hand that rested on Santana's chair, but she settled for scooting a bit closer to the smaller girl and dipping her head to catch her brown eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" Her gaze briefly lowed to the girl's chair; she didn't need to say anything else. Santana understood what she meant.

Santana's eyes darted from one place to another as she thought about her response and Brittany gave her time. She was sure Santana had her reasons, and she would give the woman time to explain herself.

The brunette sucked in a deep breath before addressing the woman in front of her. "You didn't seem to realize. And I liked the way things were between us," she released the breath and muttered quietly. "For that time, I felt normal."

Brittany ignored the painful clutch in her chest and asked with a serious face, "Did you ever plan on telling me?"

Santana looked guiltily at the ground, biting at her lip. "I did. I just didn't know when it would be the right time. Brittany," she finally locked her eyes onto blue. "It caught me off guard. I wasn't prepared." Her voice cracked at the end and Brittany fought the urge to just hold her. Santana didn't avert her eyes though, and took a breath before continuing.

"I was afraid you would look at me in the same way other people do," Brittany didn't quite understand. She couldn't fathom anyone seeing anything in Santana that wasn't wonderful or amazing.

"You always looked at me differently," she stopped; not even her tan cheeks could hide the light blush covering her face. "A good different, I don't think anyone else ever has. I didn't want that to change like it has before."

"I understand," Brittany reassured, trying to hide her own coloring cheeks at the thought of her not-so-subtle glances at the brunette. It pained her to even imagine what Santana had gone through in her life. She was so curious to know more about the girl, what had happened for her to be wheelchair bound, when it happened and who might have treated that way after it happened, but Brittany didn't want to overstep any boundaries. It wasn't the right time; she had just got Santana talking to her again. So the blonde would wait for Santana to be ready to share her story instead of prying to satisfy her own curiosity.

On the other hand, Brittany couldn't fight the urge to touch the woman anymore; she had actually surprised herself on how long she was able to hold back. So she slowly inched her hand closer to touch Santana's. Her skin felt cold under her finger tips and Santana didn't reject her touch, so the blonde enveloped the cool hand with both of her own, rubbing a soothing thumb across the soft skin to ease the brunette. "Was that why you reacted the way you did?"

Santana nodded in defeat, as she stared at their intertwined hands.

Brittany squeezed Santana's hand to get her attention back before asking "but why shut me out like that?"

Santana winced at the hurt tone in her voice as she looked up to see the blonde with her eyes stormy and looking visibly upset. She felt her heart squeeze painfully in her chest and an uncomfortable twitch in her gut at the sight of a distressed Brittany.

"I don't know," she muttered honestly and rephrased some of her earlier words. "I was afraid of what your reaction might be." The blonde scrunched up her face in a deeper frown. Santana let go of her hand to rub at her own face in frustration.

"I'm sorry; I'm just such a coward," her eyes watered but she didn't let her tears run down. She would not cry in front of anyone, not even Brittany. She was pathetic enough as it was.

Brittany shook her head, not believing Santana would thing that of herself. "I don't think you're a coward, Santana. I understand that it's hard for you. But you are talking to me now, aren't you?" she smiled timidly at the brunette.

The tiniest of smiles appeared in the corner of her plump lips, and it brightened Brittany's and solidified her resolve.

"Ooook," Brittany nodded to herself stretching the word before she repeated her earlier question "so, will you go out with me?"

Santana seemed to have forgotten that Brittany had even asked her that. And she looked puzzled as her face scrunched up in disbelief and doubt. "Why?"

The blonde was taken aback by the question and she shrugged out of reflex. At her lack of words, Brittany ducked her head in embarrassment. She could already feel her face flushing red again as all the reasons she wanted to date Santana filled her mind. All the wonderful things she noticed about the brunette, like the way her face scrunched up into her brightest smile when she was happy, the way she listened so intently to all the silly things Brittany had to say, the way she treated Brittany in the sweetest manner even when teasing her and the new found knowledge of how strong Santana really is. She could think of those and a hundred more reasons to want to date the woman but if she actually said them to her, Brittany would most likely look weird and inadequate.

"Don't bother," Santana's harsh voice cut into Brittany's thoughts and she watched as the brunette rolled backwards and away from her. "You don't have to go out with me out of pity."

"What?" It was Brittany's time to be surprised. That thought hadn't cross the blonde's mind for even a second.

Santana distanced herself, making her way to the door and Brittany followed her in haste as the brunette moved with practice ease. The smaller girl held open the front door for the blonde to leave without meeting her eyes.

But instead of leaving, Brittany grabbed the door handle and forced the door shut before Santana could protest. The blonde crossed her arms with a huff, pressed her body against the hard wood and stared intently at the brunette.

"What are you talking about?" Brittany demanded, and Santana looked startled by this new side of the blonde.

"I-I…" Santana stuttered for a few seconds. "Y-you know about me now." She glanced down dejectedly, gesturing to her legs. "You don't have to keep up our little game, Brittany. I'm giving you a way out."

"No," Brittany almost interrupted her with her gaze was fixed on the brunette. Santana looked into determined blue orbs, noticing the frustration in them. "I don't want out."

"I want to take you out on a date, Santana," she held up her hand when she saw Santana opening her mouth to speak. "I may have blurted that out before, but I still meant it."

She crouched down to Santana's level, supporting herself on the arms of her chair. She looked into unsure, brown eyes and her gaze softened.

"I want to, because I like you," her voice was barely above a whisper but they were so close, it was impossible for Santana not to hear. "I liked you from the first time I saw you. And I like you even more now that I know more about you. It doesn't change how I feel."

There was a moment of silence as Brittany stood up. Santana broke their eye contact as she thought it over, but the taller girl didn't look away for even a second.

She watched intently as those lips she longed for muttered quietly, "I-I can't…"

Brittany could feel her heart breaking in her chest cavity, her stomach dropped but her eyes didn't falter and remained fixed on the woman in front of her. An unknown feeling bubbled up inside her and she just had to ask.

"Is it because you have a boyfriend, or do you just not like me?" She blurted it out before she could stop. But she didn't regret it. She really didn't have anything to lose at this point, and that thought had been mulling in her mind for weeks.

Santana startled at the question, thinking the conversation was already over. She stared at the blonde with her mouth open. "I don't have a boyfriend."

She looked like she wanted to say something more but for some reason, she stayed quiet.

"But that guy, Aurelio…"

"Auri?" Santana cut her off, and Brittany winced at the pet name she used. The brunette had her face scrunched up in confusion and Brittany almost hated that she looked so cute.

"That ass is my brother," Santana said with her frown still in place as she wondered when Brittany had even met him.

Brittany felt silly for a moment. She wanted to kick herself for not noticing their resemblances. It wasn't anything obvious, but they had the same brown eyes, teasing smirk and Santana's trade mark dimple.

She recovered from her surprise just as Santana was about to ask something, but Brittany cut her off.

"Then why?" she insisted, because Santana still hadn't answered her question. Brittany knew she might be pushing it, but she just wanted to know the truth. She really liked this girl, and something within her told her Santana might feel the same.

There was another stretched silence for a couple of minutes and to Brittany's disappointment, it didn't look like Santana was going to say anything. She could practically feel the walls rising back around the brunette. Brittany deflated in defeat; she had done everything she could at this point. She lowered her head, stood up and opened the door to leave.

"Brittany, wait," the sound of her beautiful voice filled Brittany with hope. She looked back at the brunette, her eyes searching brown ones for an answer.

"I'll go."

Brittany couldn't believe her own ears. She was about to burst into a happy dance when Santana spoke again.

"But only one date, okay?" Santana asked uncertainly, biting her lower lip.

"Yeah," Brittany breathed after a second, trying to hide her disappointment. But she would take that. She could feel Santana's hesitance, but it was an opportunity for them to be together outside of work and get their friendship back where it used to be, hopefully even further. One date would have to be enough to convince Santana to give her a real chance.

"Then I'll go," Santana smiled and for the first time that day, Brittany noticed a real smile, however small it was and she couldn't contain her own excitement at the adorable sight.

"Awesome!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

Soooo whatacha think? We saw a new side of Santana in this one and got some answers!

This one took longer than usual for several reasons personal and not; ngl it was also pretty hard to write. I did my best and got the awesome help from my new beta leeluvzya so let's give it up for her and I hope you all enjoy it!

You reviews made my day it was pretty awesome getting so much feedback so I'm always so grateful for every single one of them. So I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one! And yes, I heard the spoilers. I don't wanna spoil it for anyone but yesss I'm so happy :D

For reasons, take a quick trip to my profile and vote for your preferred story. :D

Special thanks to slbsp-33 for the constant support and for just being awesome!

Ducks.


	10. Interrupted Bliss

The ride to work on Tuesday morning seemed brighter and Brittany sported the biggest smile. She got to work with the same smile and greeted everyone happily on her way to her locker. She was still ecstatic from the previous day and realized every time something good happened regarding Santana, everything and everyone seemed much nicer.

After her visit to Santana's house, she was positively glowing as she got to her apartment building, and nearly skipped all the way to her place. She checked her phone as she walked through the door and noticed two missed calls from Noah. She went straight to her room, jumped on her bed and called him back right away.

She excitedly told Puck everything that happened, but he didn't seem to share her enthusiasm. He didn't express any reaction when Brittany told him about Santana being in a wheelchair and when the blonde asked what was wrong after he still seemed dissatisfied with the situation, Puck gave her the 'protective brother' speech, making the blonde sigh into the phone. As annoying as it was to hear it, she couldn't blame him. He was just looking out for her and as he put it, he never wanted to see her the way she was last weekend again.

Her face flushed red at the comment as she remembered how mopey and slightly overdramatic she'd been. Brittany wished he hadn't seen her like that, but then again if it wasn't for him she would had been much worse.

Brittany assured him it was alright and she promised she would be careful after he warned her not to set her expectations too high for the date. To him, Santana was only pretending to give her a chance. But she knew he didn't know Santana like she did, maybe he would change his mind once he met her.

But for that to happen, Brittany would have to woo the girl to the max during the date so she could have that second chance. The problem was - how would she do that? A special date was already hard enough to plan, not to mention one on a tight budget.

She opened her locker and took out the things she would need as she thought of possibilities for the date. She would have to check her account and finances to know how much she could spend on the day. Just flowers alone could be really expensive, but she was prepared to go all out. Maybe if she cut down her food budget for the week, she would have some extra money.

"Hey, Brittany!"

Brittany stopped what she was doing to see Quinn approach her with a happy grin.

"Oh, hey Quinn!" the taller girl couldn't hide her equally good mood in the morning; maybe it was infectious. Brittany guessed Quinn was in one of her normal moods today.

"Ryder is actually looking for you," Quinn informed her as she opened her locker a few feet away from Brittany. The taller blonde was surprised but nodded along.

"I was instructed to take over the fifth floor for you while you're gone. He is waiting on the second for you."

"Oh, ok," she thanked and said her goodbyes to Quinn before closing her locker and leaving the room. Marley had warned her and David on the previous day that today was an important one and would be much busier than usual. It was no surprise Ryder made sure no floor was left unattended and she knew they would need to be at their best as there would be large flow of people passing through each floor from the lobby for the duration of the day.

After a packed ride to the second floor as a hoard of people rushed into the elevator along with her, Brittany found Ryder waiting for her at the front desk.

He greeted her with his usual easy smile and politely asked about her weekend since he hadn't seen her yesterday. The blonde muttered a vague "good" in reply, but couldn't help her grin even if it had nothing to with the weekend and everything to do with Santana.

"So Brittany, as you probably know your trial period is over," he started, moving closer to where she stood. She looked nervously at him, dreading what might happen next.

"We are very happy with your work and Shelby and the others agree that it's time you take a weapon to your post."

Brittany sighed with relief at the fact they were pleased with her and she wouldn't be fired anytime soon but on the other hand, she looked up at the man with a puzzled expression. Ryder was quick to remind her that "it's company policy, remember?"

She gave him a slow nod. She guessed her mind had been wandering to other things and she didn't remember that piece of information from her contract.

"Your resume said you have the permit, correct?" he continued, picking up a clipboard and reading over whatever was written on it.

"Yes," she replied simply.

"And all the additional courses?" he asked, checking off something on the clipboard as he asked the standard questions.

"Yes, I finished them last year."

"Great!" he briefly looked up at her before checking off another item listed on the paper. "I assume you are carrying your licenses as well?"

"Yes," she answered automatically. Her head was starting to wander back to Santana. Not that that was anything new.

"Good. You can bring your own weapon or we can provide one for you," Ryder informed her, his attention still on the papers.

Brittany caught the last part and spoke up "I don't really have one."

"It's ok," he looked away from the clipboard and smiled. "I was guessing you would say that. If you want, I can go up to the armory and pick up something that would work for you."

"You guys have an armory?" That unusual information spiked her interest. She didn't think it was common for a non-security company to have one.

"Yeah, it's not big or anything but it's precaution," Ryder averted his eyes before sighing and moving the conversation along. "Our standard pistol hand gun is a Glock 22, will that be alright?

"Yes, of course," Brittany answered. She was familiar with it as she had used a similar model during her training, so it would do just fine.

"Alright, so just sign here," Ryder said after he looked through some papers on his clipboard and selected one for her to sign. It was already filled out with her name and information and she gave it a brief read to make sure there was nothing out of the ordinary before signing the form for her weapon release.

Brittany wracked her brain trying to remember if she had brought her gun permit along with her licenses. It was mandatory procedure for any security guard and it was even stricter for security officers who carried firearms. She would have to check the bag in her locker to be sure.

"I'll go get the gun then," Ryder told her and she was about to follow him when he stopped. "You can wait here in the meantime."

Brittany got the hint and waited patiently for his return.

She got to the fifth floor and traded places with Quinn, now carrying her Glock 22 in its proper hoist. The gun felt heavy on her waist; the weight felt foreign. It had been some time since she carried one, but she would just have to get used to it and get back to work.

* * *

It was mid shift and Brittany was bored on fifth floor duty. She looked past the constant stream of people and wondered if they all worked here. She was brought out of her thoughts when her phone buzzed. A simple word was enough to bring a smile to her face.

'_Hi.'_

The timid greeting was utterly cute to her as she could imagine exactly the way the brunette would say it. Brittany shouldn't be distracted while at her post, but she couldn't wait to answer the woman so she texted back quickly and eagerly waited for the response.

_'Hi, San.'_

It took only a second for her phone to alert her.

_'Are you working the parking lot today?'_

Her excitement was slightly dampened and her shoulders slumped, inwardly cursing her schedule. Brittany's parking lot shift would be tomorrow and she regretfully informed the brunette.

'_Oh, ok. I'll see you then?'_

She wasn't sure if she was projecting, but it seemed that Santana might be as disappointed as she was that they wouldn't see each other. Brittany typed a reply with a smiley face confirming it before anyone around her noticed. She might have stared down at her phone rereading the message for longer than socially acceptable until she felt someone approaching, causing her to quickly shove the phone back into her pocket.

She looked up and was relieved to see Karofsky smirking at her.

"So you look happy," his knowing grin telling her he had caught her red-handed. "How did it go?" he asked suggestively.

"How did you kno…" she trailed off as he brushed her off with his hand.

"Oh, come on. You were so determined yesterday that I'm sure you went there straight from here."

Brittany blushed furiously, bashfully ducking her head as Dave described with precision almost exactly what happened on the previous evening; the difference being she had actually changed into more comfortable clothes before going to Santana's place.

"That's answer enough," David laughed, teasing her with bump to her shoulder.

"Shh, we're working," she scolded him as she stood straight and looked ahead ignoring his presence, but the grin at the corner of her lips was still very much visible.

"So, you're not telling me?" he frowned, looking pathetically at her and Brittany suddenly thought of a big sad bear and fought the urge to point that out just to tease him.

"Of course I am," she rolled her eyes and gave him a sideways look. "Just not now."

* * *

It wasn't until their lunch break that Brittany had time to talk with Karofsky. The building had been so hectic! David was called to settle a commotion at the ninth just minutes after their conversation.

After the rush hour, the fifth floor had settled and nearly no one was around; every employee too busy doing their thing in their own office. The hallway was completely empty but for the blonde. She was alone for the rest of the morning, though not much happened. From what Brittany could hear on her radio, it seemed every other floor was having problems either with a malfunctioning key card or a complaint from someone, but Brittany's floor was peaceful.

Brittany waited for Dave to take his own lunch break and that happened nearly at 2pm and she was already starving. He promised to make up for it and bought her lunch so she couldn't complain.

The break room was empty by the time they got there, and they both dove into their food. Brittany quickly finished her homemade sandwich and started on the plate of spaghetti David had bought her. It didn't take long for him to annoy her into spilling about the previous da,y but she was happy to tell him all about it.

"Wow, Brittany that's really brave," David said in approval of her actions and how firm she had been. He didn't think he would have the guts to do the same. "Awesome!" he added, before stuffing a large portion of chicken and spaghetti into his mouth.

Brittany took a few more bites of her delicious food. The food from here was really good, no wonder it was so expensive. David wiped his mouth with a napkin before addressing her with a worried frown.

"So you don't mind her disability at all?

"I don't," Brittany said with conviction. "I really don't. She's amazing, Dave. Like, really amazing when she allows herself to relax." The dreamy look in her eye told him everything he needed to know and he smiled fondly at his friend.

"Why would that change how I feel?" She shrugged it off as if it was the simplest thing in the world and in that moment, David wished there were more people like Brittany in the world and he was glad to have become friends with such a good person.

"You decide on a date yet?"

"No, not yet," Brittany answered with a thoughtful look. She really wanted the date to be the upcoming weekend but she would have to check with Santana first. Though it also depended on what her plans for the date were. "But I still haven't had the time to plan it. I need to bring some serious game."

Karofsky nodded in agreement. One date was a lot of pressure but by now he was rooting for Brittany and he would help as much as he could.

"Just do what feels natural," David said between bites. "From what you told me you guys get along great and are comfortable with each other, so maybe some place nice and relaxing so you can talk?" he offered, not sure of his own suggestion.

He thought about for another second and added, "Maybe share something you like to do with her."

The first thing that came to Brittany's mind was dancing. But honestly that was out of the picture if she wanted Santana to feel comfortable during their first date, so maybe some other time. The blonde stopped eating in deep thought; maybe she could try another hobby…

"Oh," Brittany muttered in realization.

"What?" Dave asked curiously.

"I think I got it."

* * *

To Brittany's surprise, Santana actually called her that night and they talked about their respective days for a while. It was brief but so worth it. It just urged the blonde to plan the most perfect date possible for Santana, though she still had to ask the brunette when she was available.

So now, Brittany was eagerly waiting for the brunette by the parking lot; she had been waiting all day to see Santana again. She was surprised but delighted that Santana had texted her a morning greeting as they used to, and her heart warmed at the feeling that they were slowly getting back to how they used to be.

Brittany was nearly bouncing on the balls of her feet as she not-so-patiently waited for the clock to hit 7 and she was suddenly very thankful she hadn't asked Ryder to change her schedule after that mournful weekend.

Like clockwork, the black Avalon approached the gate and the blonde's station. The tinted window was already down, and Santana was looking at her as she pulled up.

"Hi Britt," the nickname easily rolling off her tongue and giving Brittany tingles. "It's good to see you."

"You too, San," Brittany was already smiling so big; it wasn't like she could hide it. She noticed Santana tired eyes despite her genuine smile and wondered if she had slept at all.

"Busy yesterday?" she tried asking the brunette.

"Yeah, actually," Santana nodded to herself as she rubbed the stress out of her temples before stopping and turning to the blonde curiously. "How did you know?"

"I was stationed up there yesterday," Brittany shrugged, but her grin never faltered.

"Oh, right," Santana looked down, slightly embarrassed for not remembering that detail.

"What was that all about?" Brittany tried moving the conversation along so Santana stopped awkwardly staring at her legs. It was odd to Brittany being the more confident one in their relationship since she always felt so inadequate while around the brunette. Brittany was aware at the flutter in her stomach as she thought the word 'relationship'.

"Oh, it was the rush of a release date. A lot of deadlines are due this week so people are rushing like maniacs," she rolled her eyes at how unorganized some people were with work.

Santana halted for a second, biting at her lips before looking up at Brittany and piping up. "At least on the thirteenth, there weren't any crazies running around."

Brittany chuckled at that, she was glad Santana was coming out of her shell again and giving her an opening, so she decided to tease her.

"Yeah? Maybe they're afraid of the thirteenth floor."

Santana let out a light laugh and Brittany realized she'd missed that sound so much. "I think they're more afraid of me!"

"I can't see that happening," Brittany said truthfully and Santana halted her laughter.

There was a moment of silence when Brittany watched brown eyes soften before Santana confessed, "I like it there. It's quiet."

Brittany nodded in understanding and watched as Santana leaned her head out of the car a bit and motioned for her to come a little closer. Brittany's heart almost beat out of her chest at the close proximity. "And it's actually my favorite number."

Brittany stored that piece of information in her mind and gave Santana a sweet smile. Another one of Santana's small little secrets that Brittany would treasure, the girl was possibly the cutest thing the blonde ever seen.

A thought occurred to Brittany - something that had been on her mind for a while.

"San," Brittany ventured after a few seconds of pondering the best way to ask the brunette, and now she was the one feeling nervous but her curiosity got the best out of her.

"How can you, you know," she trailed off before nearly whispering, "…drive?"

Brittany kicked her toe into the ground nervously, and then she looked up to see that Santana was not upset with the question. She wasn't exactly smiling but the taller girl thought her brown eyes softened when Brittany looked back at her.

"I really like this car," Santana started with a soft voice, running her hands over the steering wheel. "I just had some changes made so I can drive."

She pointed to the steering wheel and the dashboard where a series of buttons were displayed that Brittany had never noticed it before. It looked really neat, but it must not have been cheap.

"I put it in the back," Brittany was confused for a second before she followed Santana's thumb as the brunette pointed at the back seat. Brittany leaned out further to see the hint of metal of what looked like a foldable wheelchair. In the back of her mind, she wondered if that might be the reason for the tinted windows. She flushed as she wondered how Santana can read her so easily, knowing she was wondering about her wheelchair.

As if reading her mind again, Santana said with the hint of a smile. "It's really light," she said, answering Brittany's unasked question of how Santana could pick up her chair alone since she seemed so tiny to the blonde.

They smiled at each other before Santana exclaimed that she had to go.

It didn't deter Brittany's excitement though.

* * *

Brittany was still beaming when she got to her apartment building, hopping up two steps at a time until she got to her apartment. She had been so joyful, she sang along with George the whole way home.

Every time she had a conversation or encounter with the brunette, she was more sure the woman was worth pursuing. Somehow, Brittany had forgotten to ask Santana about the date but she settled for asking tomorrow. She was positive she would have many opportunities to do so.

The blonde was looking for her keys in her duffel bag when she noticed a note attached to her front door. She didn't recognize the sloppy handwriting but the message was clear enough to read. What a way to put a damper on her mood.

The note didn't make any sense though. She picked up the piece of paper with confusion as she re-read it just to be certain. It said her rent was late and it notified her that she had approximately 4 days to vacate the apartment. It was absolutely ridiculous, since due to her new job she for once had the money to pay her rent on time.

Not bothering to even open her apartment, Brittany ran her way back down to the ground floor, leaving her duffel bag by her door and almost slipping at some point in her haste to confront Mr. Heckles.

She knocked on the poorly kept door with force, and waited for the old man to appear. Brittany knew he would be home. Sometimes it felt like the man never even left the building, he was always lurking and searching for a reason to complain. She gave another succession of rapid knocks and the old door creaked loudly with each one. It took a few moments until the door finally opened with a screech.

The man appeared in the doorway with his usual disheveled white hair, annoyed look on his wrinkly face and wearing the old grey robe he never seemed to take it off.

"What?" Mr. Heckles grumbled in irritation.

"What's this supposed to mean?" Brittany was equally as irritated as him when she shoved the paper towards his chest.

He looked at the piece of paper as if he was bored with his dead eyes.

"Exactly what it says Ms. Pierce," he gave the paper back but Brittany refused to take it with a shake of her head.

"Mr. Heckles, that's impossible. I paid my rent last week!" Brittany explained exasperatedly.

"I only received half the rent this month. You know I don't tolerate tardiness," the man warned her, reminding her of the fact two days was the longest time she had delayed her rent and he had given her an earful when it happened.

"But…" Brittany was about to protest when it dawned on her. Cassandra. Cassandra mustn't have paid her part of the rent. In fact, she had tried several times to contact the older woman but couldn't get a hold of her, not to mention the fact Brittany hadn't seen her in a while. She was having a bad feeling about this.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

Ohh no! Some people did suspect Cassandra was up to something. But did she really screw B over? :P What do you think?

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, I know it was kinda of a filler but definitely necessary. I was suppose to update earlier but voting and errands got in the way, so I blame my country.

Let me give a shout out for my beta leeluvzya for helping me out.

Amazing feedback guys. Thank you so much. It just motivates me even more each time. I wish I could reply to everyone, but anons and new anons be certain that every wonderful comment is highly appreciated! Thank you!

Special thanks also to thisisbrittana cause she listened to my crazy rambles when I was prepping to write this story.

Ducks.


	11. The Eighth Floor

Her uneasiness only increased as she strode upstairs with purpose.

Brittany was set on getting her phone to call her reckless roommate right away. She picked up her duffle bag by the door and rushed inside. She searched for her phone inside her bag but stopped abruptly when she noticed something missing in the living room; or rather, some things. For a split second, she panicked thinking someone might have broken in and stolen some of their stuff.

No, that wasn't possible. Upon further inspections she realized the only things missing in the whole room were Cassandra's. Her appliances, her arm chair, even the center piece on the kitchen table. There was a strong possibility that she had moved and decided not to tell Brittany about it.

She quickly made her way to Cassandra's door; fearing what she already knew she would find there. The door was unlocked and with a simple push it revealed the empty room. None of her stuff was there, her queen-size bed nor her enormous wardrobe. Brittany felt a pang of hurt at the sight. She couldn't believe it.

The blonde quickly dialed Cassandra's number and waited. Again it rang for a good minute and no one picked up. Brittany angrily ended the call but persisted, trying again. After another minute, still nothing. For a moment, Brittany was worried that something bad might have happened to her roommate. She brushed that grim thought aside and tried once again. She wouldn't give in until she talked to the other woman. Fortunately, this time after the forth ring someone answered.

"Hello?" Cassandra's nonchalance voice filled the silence, and Brittany held in the urge to just shout at her. She wasn't one for unnecessary rage, but she couldn't believe Cassandra could be that thoughtless.

"Cassandra, where the hell are you?" she asked, making a huge effort not to raise her voice despite her irritation. After getting nothing from the unresponsive woman, who seemed to be busy doing something else by the rattling sounds on the other end of the phone, Brittany continued. "Did you… Did you move and not tell me?!" she blew up in frustration as she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Oh chill, Britt," the way she said Brittany's nickname made the younger girl grind her teeth and grip the phone tighter. "Yeah, I moved in with my boyfriend, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal?! You didn't even tell me. Why didn't you pay the rent?" she didn't even stop to question how she didn't even know Cassandra was seeing someone regularly; though it did explain why she was so absent lately. But then again, Brittany couldn't remember the last time she was this worked up over something.

"I figured if I was moving, there was no reason to pay for it," she reasoned and Brittany could actually imagine her shrugging as if there was no problem at all.

"Cassandra," Brittany gritted her teeth. The irritable noise continued on the other side, pissing off the girl even more. "How am I supposed to pay the rent by myself?!"

"Oh," there was silence for a moment where Brittany imagined Cassandra might be coming to her senses - that is, until she opened her mouth again. "I guess that is a problem. Sorry about that, B."

"You're sorry?" Brittany's frustration was at its peak, she couldn't believe how inconsiderate Cassandra had been. They had been rooming together for nearly a year now, she knew the woman had many flaws but was still manageable and with time even nice to Brittany, so she could never have seen this coming. And even now, the older woman didn't sound sorry at all. Brittany could even hear some laughter in the background wherever Cassandra was, and the woman muttering "I'm coming," to someone.

"Yeah, totally. I've gotta go, B," and before Brittany could even protest or lay some truth on her, she was gone.

Brittany furiously threw her beat up phone on her couch and sunk into the ground. What was she supposed to do? Even with her new job, paying the full price of the rent was still too much, plus she wouldn't receive any payment until the end of the week.

She sat on the cold floor for some time, not knowing what to do.

* * *

Brittany barely got any sleep that night. Her mind whirled with thoughts but no definitive solution came to mind. Morning came and her worries grew. The fact she was alone only made her get lost in her own thoughts even more. What was she supposed to do? Cassandra had really screwed her over this time. She had just a couple of days to fix this or get a new place to live though even with her new job, her money wouldn't be enough; real estate in LA was just too expensive for her to afford something on her own.

Even though it was early morning and she hadn't really fallen asleep, Brittany managed to drag herself to work in a forlorn mood, her mind totally preoccupied with her own predicament. Today her shift at the parking lot was far too early for someone who'd barely slept and her muddled mind was so clouded that she didn't register when the familiar Avalon pulled up by her station's window.

"Morning, Britt," Santana greeted with her easy smile even before she set her eyes on the blonde.

Brittany looked up in surprise, her demeanor improving slightly at the more than welcome woman in front of her.

"Oh, hi," she replied back, trying to muster up a decent smile.

Santana eyed the troubled blonde with a scrunch of her brows, analyzing the woman for a second.

"Are you okay, Britt?" she asked in genuine concern upon noticing the bags under clouded blue eyes and how the usually cute twinkling girl looked so desolate and distressed.

Brittany looked down, flushing at the question. A part of her fluttered at the fact Santana seemed to have picked up on her dismal demeanor, but another part of her was embarrassed about her own situation. She didn't want to bring Santana down so early in the day. They had only started talking again; she didn't want to burden the woman with her problems.

"Yeah," Brittany nodded slowly, though she wasn't convincing anyone with the way she averted her eyes from the brunette.

"Britt…," her voice sounded like velvet to Brittany ears, Santana said her name so softly. She felt the urge to reach out for the woman but held it in.

The silence lingered for a few seconds and Santana really wanted to stay and talk to the girl. Brittany looked like she needed it, even if she was trying to deny it. Santana felt an overwhelming longing to talk to her or just listen to her.

She glanced at her dashboard clock in dismay and sighed deeply at the time. She looked back at Brittany before coming up with an idea. "Will you still be here during lunch?"

"Yeah, I'll be right here," Brittany looked forlornly at her surroundings, inwardly dreading spending that much time alone with her own thoughts.

"How about I come down for lunch?" Brittany snapped her eyes back to the brunette at the unexpected words.

Santana hadn't thought about how the invitation might have sounded to the other woman and she backtracked in reflex. "Would that be ok?"

Suddenly, Santana seemed so tiny, looking up shyly at the blonde. Brittany smiled her first genuine smile of the day. She couldn't help but nod. She didn't think she could ever refuse Santana's company, especially such an adorable request.

"I have to go now, but I'll see you at lunch?" Santana subtly pushed at a button with her thumb as she sought reassurance.

Brittany nodded back at her as she quickly checked the woman's documentation as usual and gave it back to her.

Santana left and the only thing in Brittany's mind was how lucky she was to have met a someone as sweet as the brunette.

* * *

It was still early when Brittany got a quick phone call from her aunt. The woman was her father's much younger sister and as the blonde was her only niece the lively woman was always Brittany's fun aunt growing up. Until this day, the woman would call her niece from time to time to check on the girl and this time, she suggested that they meet up soon for a play date with her five year old daughter Mila, who loved her cousin Brittany.

"She misses you, Britt."

"I miss her too, Aunt Maggie! All of you," Brittany smiled into the phone, it had been almost a month since she had visited her aunt and she missed them greatly.

"Is Mila feeling well, though?" the girl asked worriedly, Mila was a ball of sunshine but she had somewhat fragile health-wise.

"Yes, she is, Brittany. Don't you worry," her aunt reassured and Brittany breathed out in relief. "Will this weekend work for you?"

"Uhh, well…" the blonde would love to have some time with her aunt and her favorite cupcake, Mila, but Brittany was kinda hoping to ask Santana on their date this weekend.

"Can I get back to you on that? I kinda have a thing," Brittany asked hopefully.

"Ohh so it's a date, sweetie?" Maggie teased on the other end.

Brittany was at a loss of words and her face was on fire. Was she that transparent?

"Don't sweat it, Britt," her aunt reassured her with a light laugh. "Have fun on your date and we can schedule something after it. I'll see you later, love," she quickly hung up after making a kissing noise.

Brittany didn't have time to clarify that she hadn't even set the date yet, but she really hoped Santana would be available this weekend.

It was mid-morning, when her cellphone rang again, this time it was Puck calling her. She didn't think she ever received that many calls in a single morning. Puck said he had just got back from a flight and had found the apartment locked up; Brittany had forgotten to leave her key for him under a pot plant.

She explained to him she had been distracted with other things and informed him of what happened with Cassandra and he pretty much blew up on the phone. Brittany could only imagine how he looked as he threatened the woman left and right. Though, Brittany was well aware that's a horrible idea at best.

"Puck, it's ok," she tried calming him down and continued before he could interrupt her again. "There's nothing you can do about it. Please don't get yourself into trouble," she finished trying to reason with him, hoping he wouldn't go back to his troublemaking ways and do something he would regret later.

Technically, Cassandra hadn't done anything wrong or illegal, it was just really shitty.

"But Britt, what are you gonna do?" he almost pleaded, worry dripping from his voice.

Brittany bit her lip, holding in bothersome tears. She felt like crying just thinking about it.

"I don't know, Noah. I don't wanna go back to Daddy's. It will be too much for him even if he won't admit it," she explained, rubbing her temples in frustration.

"Maybe if you stopped-"

"No, Noah," Brittany interjected before he could even finish his sentence, her face twisted in anger that he would even go there. "Don't even suggest that."

"Ok, I won't," he stopped to think for a second, mulling over her options before giving another suggestion.

"I can pay the other half if you wa-" he offered only to be cut off again by Brittany again.

"No, there's just no way I can accept that, Noah," Brittany was thankful that he would suggest that, it moved her that she had such a good friend. But she was making more money now and even if her bills remained high as ever, she should be able to take care of herself. And Puck had his own comfortable apartment and his own life, it wasn't fair to him to make him move to a tiny apartment only because of her or even worse, make him pay for a second apartment when he wasn't even living there.

"Ok, ok. How about you stay with me until we find you a place to stay?" he reasoned with some hope that his last option would be plausible.

"Are you sure, Puck?" Brittany was hesitant. She didn't want to impose on anyone, even Puck. She should be able to take care of herself, but unfortunately she really couldn't think of any other option.

"Of course, I am, B. You're my sis, so don't dare refuse!" he finished in mock strictness.

"Ok, then," Brittany smiled into the phone fondly, she just had no words. She was lucky to have a friend and brother like him through everything.

"The bitch didn't steal my X-Box, did she?" his voice interrupted her musings and Brittany laughed at his annoyed but truly fearful tone.

"No Puck, I don't think she did." Brittany dismissed it with a laugh, but to tell the truth she didn't really remember if that was true.

"Good," he said after releasing a deep breath even Brittany could hear it on her end of the phone.

* * *

It was finally lunch time and Brittany tightly clutched her wrapped turkey sandwich and nervously bounced her knee up and down as she waited for Santana. All the usual cars that left for lunch had already passed; even if there weren't many, and she was surprised when she didn't see Santana's Avalon coming up right after them.

After a few minutes she started wondering if the woman was coming at all since they had less than an hour for lunch, but that was just silly. Santana wouldn't bother to ask her for a lunch date if she didn't care. Oh, Brittany hadn't realized it was a date. She's not sure if Santana even would consider it a date, but the blonde was as nervous as she would be if it was a real date.

Her phone buzzing in her pocket brought her out of her date dilemma.

'_Hey, Britt. Can you come to the elevator?'_

She stood up in a heartbeat, wondering if something happened and rushed to the elevator after typing a quick reply. Brittany took the stairs and when she got to the second underground floor, she saw Santana by the elevator door, sitting patiently in her chair and the blonde relaxed at the sight. Nothing seemed to be wrong and the fact Santana was not 'hiding' anymore from her gave her tingles and sliver of hope.

"San!" she waved at the woman and Santana looked somewhat embarrassed as she crossed her hands over her lap after hesitantly waving back. Brittany approached the woman, taking the time to marvel at how beautiful she looked and momentarily forgetting all her problems. Her hair was loose, with her long side bang pushed back and she donned a pair of dark high-waist slacks and a white blouse. She looked every bit the professional woman and utterly gorgeous. Brittany more than enjoyed finally being able to see the brunette's full outfit for once, and she couldn't have looked any better.

"What's up?" Brittany asked, as Santana timidly looked at her biting at her lip before stuttering.

"I just…I just thought that since weren't going anywhere outside, I didn't need to take the car?" she said it almost as a question and Brittany felt that little flutter in her belly at how cute nervous Santana was.

"That's awesome, San. Where do you wanna eat?" Brittany hoped Santana had a suggestion because she didn't know if there were many places to eat in the building, not on her paycheck at least.

"We can go up to the cafeteria?" Santana suggested a bit uncertain, thinking maybe she should have planned this out better.

Brittany started nodding, because she couldn't think of anywhere else, and she did have her trusty turkey sandwich with her. Santana seemed to have another idea - "or, we can go to the café on the eighth?"

"T-he eighth?" Brittany asked with a gasp.

"Yeah, they have a smaller cafeteria; it's more of a café really. But the food is even better and there are hardly any people around for some reason," Santana explained with a wave of her hand.

"Isn't it …?" Brittany started but stopped herself before she said something to embarrass herself.

"Isn't it what? " Santana asked curiously, looking up at the woman as she maneuvered her chair towards the elevator.

"Never mind," Brittany looked down to her feet, as she followed the brunette.

"Come on, Britt," Santana pleaded as Brittany held the door open for her to roll into the elevator, mumbling a quiet "thank you" right after.

"It's silly really…" the blonde fumbled with her hands but decided to just tell the truth "But people say it's haunted."

Santana smiled softly at her words. _That_ smile. The non-judgmental smile that Brittany knew it wasn't making fun of her.

"Oh that!" Santana said in apparent understanding but reached for the eighth floor button, making Brittany freeze beside her.

"You know about it? Is it really haunted?" Brittany left her embarrassment behind as her eyes widened and she was suddenly even more wary about going there.

Santana shook her head, her smile never faltering. "No, no, it's not. I'm pretty sure someone made that up to hide that cafeteria from everyone."

Brittany let out a huge sigh of relief, a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. She inwardly cursed the demon spawn who had made up such a rumor.

Santana noticed her stance and briefly reached out to squeeze at her covered arm. Brittany grinned down in relief at her when the ding of the elevator alerted them that they had arrived and the brunette retracted her hand in reflex.

Santana rolled out of the elevator and motioned for Brittany to follow her. The taller girl only now noticed that Santana wasn't using the same chair as the one at her house, this one was electric and she didn't require any effort to even move, just a motion of her wrist.

Brittany saw Santana turning on a corner she barely even saw and kept following the woman. Maybe she shouldn't have made her rounds at the eighth so brief after all. Oh Well.

She saw a small café with elegant chairs and petite tables, only one was occupied by an older man who idly sipped at his coffee as he concentrated on his tablet.

Brittany pulled a chair to the side to accommodate Santana's chair at the table and promptly took a sit next to her. Santana handed over a menu to the blonde and Brittany politely refused it; she really didn't wanna look at it just to see she couldn't afford any of it.

"You don't want anything?" Santana asked with a deep frown. She really wanted Brittany to cheer up, and some good food was usually half the battle in her opinion.

"I got mine." she held up her wrapped up turkey sandwich for Santana to see.

"Oh, okay," Santana nodded, not thinking much of it as someone came up by her side and asked what she wanted. The brunette smiled as she already had her usual order ready and the man wrote it down and quickly left.

Brittany watched the interaction before asking what had been on her mind. "Oh, so this is where you have lunch?"

"Yeah," Santana replied shyly, looking down at the table cloth before mumbling. "Most days when I actually remember to."

It didn't take long for the waiter to bring Santana's food and they started eating. Santana noticed how Brittany quietly munched on her sandwich not looking up at her. She wondered what was on the blonde's mind, and remembered the reason she asked Brittany to lunch in the first place.

"So what's troubling you, Britt?" Santana tentatively asked, taking a sip from her iced tea.

"It's nothing San," Brittany said after swallowing a large bite of her sandwich.

"It's clearly not nothing if it's bothering you," she reasoned with the girl.

"It's just…" Brittany put her sandwich down, sighing deeply before relenting and disclosing the events of yesterday to Santana.

"My roommate, Cassandra… She…" She tried a way to explain it without telling Santana about all her financial problems. "She didn't pay rent because apparently she moved out without telling me."

"Britt, that's awful," Santana said in shock followed by a silent sympathetic look. "And it's definitely not nothing. You have every reason to feel upset." Brittany nodded wordlessly while picking at her sandwich.

"Do you know what you are going to do?" Santana asked reaching for one of Brittany's hands.

"I'm not sure. But my friend Noah," for some reason, Brittany didn't even know why she clarified that, "he is like a brother to me. He said I could stay with him." She didn't dwell on it. She didn't want Santana feeling sorry for her and pitying her situation so she didn't mention how her staying at Noah was only temporary and she didn't know if she would be able to afford an apartment on her own.

"Oh, ok," Santana nodded in understanding but wearing an unreadable expression. "I'm here if you ever need to talk, you know?"

Brittany nodded back with a smile and gave Santana's hand a light squeeze. Offering a piece of her sandwich to Santana, the brunette accepted it on the condition that Brittany would taste a croissant from her own plate. It briefly crossed Brittany's mind that it certainly felt like a date to her.

They exchanged compliments and Brittany marveled at how tasty the food here was, as she just admired those warm brown eyes staring back at her, until she remembered something she had been waiting to ask for a while now about their real date.

"San," she started after finishing the croissant. "I was wondering…"

Santana chewed on a piece of sandwich, looking curiously at the stammering blonde.

"About the date," she finally got it out and noticed Santana's subtle smile at the words before she stuttered the question out. "Would this weekend be ok?

Santana's face fell however, and Brittany felt her stomach drop, assuming the worse.

"I have a few things to work on," she replied forlornly, looking apologetically at Brittany.

Brittany deflated further, feeling heartbroken. She wondered if she took too long and now Santana backed down and only wanted to be her friend.

Upon seeing the look of heartbreak on Brittany's face though, Santana quickly tried to make amends. "Can it be next weekend? Or Friday, I'm free that Friday," she rushed to answer, but still tried not to sound too eager.

Brittany nodded happily, the smile reappearing on her face after sighing in utter relief.

"Sounds great!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

Not the real date, but still good, I hope? What did you guys think? High five to the people that guessed what Cassandra was up to. Poor Britt is in a real pickle, but she's got people to help her. And guess what? Something you all being waiting might happen in the next chapter. *wink wink*

Longer wait, sorry about that. That's just life, but I'll try to keep it once a week.

My beta leeluvzya, thank you for the help. You are awesome.

As always thank you for the great feedback. Every single one means so much to me. Thank you. And thank you to all new followers. I always get so happy when I get the alerts. Thank you!

Quick shout out to one grim anon, I hadn't even thought of the ditch option. That would definitely be a plot twist!

Ducks.


	12. Hold My Hand, We Are Halfway There

It was Friday morning and Brittany was buzzing. She had never felt so electric, excited and nervous at the same time before a date. She settled on Friday for their date; her shift ended early that day, and Santana said she was free for most of the day. Which on the bright side, meant Brittany could pick her up early but also meant that she wouldn't be able to see the brunette until their date.

It had been quite the week and she ended up learning that Santana really wasn't blowing her off or making up excuses, as not only the brunette but everyone in the building seemed busier than ever. Apparently deadline week was no joke and the previous Friday had been absolute hell. She didn't get the chance to see Santana all day. The brunette had sent her a couple of stressed-out texts about her frustration with a member of her work team who had screwed something up.

And if the lower floors were busy the previous week, the top floors were bustling with movement and people at least until the following Tuesday. That, happily enough, was the day that Brittany finally saw Santana again. The woman looked beyond tired and told her about how she had to do some extra work during the weekend and had barely got any sleep. She looked so beat, Brittany didn't have the heart to tell her that she actually had an amazing weekend with her aunt and cousin. Mila still was recovering from her last medical procedure and couldn't really run but Brittany could swing the little girl just fine at the park near her house, then they watched movies and ate popcorn for the rest of the day.

She hadn't heard anything from Cassandra since. Brittany didn't really expect to either. She just craved to find a solution to her living arrangements. Mrs. Heckels had almost kicked her out when she told him she wouldn't be able to pay the rest of the rent that was owed. She managed to get her money back, after Puck came by with her to 'persuade' Mr. Heckles, so she would have at least some money to look for a new apartment. Brittany did use some of it to put most of her stuff in a storage room; Brittany wouldn't want to take up all of Puck's space.

Her stay at Puck's wasn't that bad though. He only had that one room but his sofa bed wasn't so bad; she missed her couch though, and he probably did too, since it's the most comfortable thing ever. On the first night, Noah had insisted Brittany take the bed which ended in an argument between the two and then proceeded to a pillow fight for territory and ended up with each one sleeping by each side of the bed in their own pillow fort. After that day, Puck stopped insisting and just let Brittany choose where she would sleep, which was the not so comfortable sofa bed. But she wouldn't complain, he was giving her a place to stay and she no longer got cold any night because of the lack of heating, so it was all good on her book.

She was still yet to tell her father about her sudden change of address and she avoided the topic when she was with her aunt that weekend. She wouldn't want her aunt to keep anything else from her own brother.

Despite having an early shift this Friday, the rest of her week was pretty rushed with two ten hours shifts - she was trying to make as much money as possible after all. She just wasn't sure when she would be able to look up an apartment for herself. It was one thing to stay a week or maybe even two at Puck's but she knew she was a disruption to his life style. With Brittany there he had to refrain from a lot of things, including his disgusting naked Tuesdays and bringing women to the apartment.

Puck had a day off on that Wednesday mid-shift, and she received pictures of two apartments he had found for her. One was unfortunately way above her price range and the other managed to be worse and smaller than her previous one.

On Thursday, Santana had asked with inquiring eyes what sort of outfit she should wear and where the date would be taking place but Brittany just smirked and replied with a mysterious 'wear something comfortable'. Santana narrowed her eyes and tried to pry for more information but Brittany was a closed book. She was working to make the date as perfect as she could with the funds she had, and the blonde would keep the surprise for as long as she could.

At least in her mind, it seemed like a good idea for a date.

Brittany waited eagerly for her parking lot shift to end as she twirled her pen in her hand and thought about the date she had planned ahead. 'Friday Date Night' - she liked the sound of that, she thought giggling to herself like a school girl. No one was around so she was allowed to be silly.

She had taken those extra days to prepare and sweep Santana off her feet. Sure, she was completely broke… But Brittany would use every resource available to her to make it an unforgettable night.

Today, she had finally met the doofus known as Finn Hudson. He greeted her with a boyish smile and held her hand for longer than acceptable before it became totally awkward. Brittany couldn't believe his nerve to try to insinuate himself into her after making her life hell with his incompetent work. He really must be an idiot. But he was taking over for her in a few minutes, so she couldn't complain. The blonde just felt bad for the poor soul who would work on the weekend and pick up where he left off, though she couldn't help being happy that it wasn't her.

Finn appeared just a couple minutes late, which was already a miracle for him so she just shook her head at his attempt at making conversation with his attempt at a flirty smile and waved him off in a flash. Brittany didn't want to waste any of her time before the date, since she still had quite a lot to set up. She had told Santana they would leave rather early and the brunette agreed without questioning her. And Brittany damn sure would get there on time.

She drove George to Puck's place as quickly as legally allowed. He was out of town for the weekend so she had his place to herself, not that she planned to use it in that way. She felt herself flushing even at the thought of it. Brittany quickly brushed the thought aside; she was getting ahead of herself, probably because she hadn't been out with anyone in some time. But that would never happen anyway, not tonight. Not that she didn't want to; because it definitely had crossed her mind. Santana was beautiful, and she was only human after all. But this would their first and possibly only date; she would be lucky to get even a kiss on the cheek. Santana was a much more reserved person than she originally thought, but the blonde was positive she was more than worth all the effort.

George was carefully parked in Puck's garage, the blonde taking full advantage of the vacant space while her friend was away. Brittany took her time cleaning and setting up the back of the truck as nicely as possible and checking its back lighting in the process. Then, she covered it to protect from dust and also to hide part of her surprise.

Brittany looked at her handwork with a smile before going up the apartment and getting the rest of the things she needed for the date. Though she tried to not spend much, certain things such as flowers and tickets still cost money and had to be dealt with; it was her one chance to impress Santana after all.

Though Puck was absent, Brittany didn't miss how George's tank was suddenly full and the food in the pantry was surprisingly stocked with everything need she needed and more. Puck had his subtle ways of helping and she appreciated it. He wouldn't just leave her going without for the weekend. A part of her wondered if he had done that because of her date or just because he cared about her; she had a feeling it was a little bit of both.

Brittany finished preparing everything in the kitchen and arranged it in a large basket before going to take a quick shower to get ready. She didn't put on a lot of make-up and kept her clothes casual with just some dark jeans, a simple white shirt with a cartoon cat on it, her favorite blue jacket and trusty black converse. After she straightened her hair, she also put her favorite sparkly black beanie on because, why not?

She gave herself a once over in the mirror and nodded, content with what she saw. She looked really good.

Picking up the large basket she had prepared and the duffle bag in the corner, she went back down to the garage and arranged everything she needed for her plan in the back. Brittany climbed inside her reliable friend before bringing the engine to life, patting the dashboard before saying.

"Let's rock this, George!"

* * *

Brittany was slightly nervous when she pulled outside Santana's house. Ok, she was definitely nervous and her clammy hands couldn't let her believe otherwise. She glanced between the house and her own phone as she mulled over texting the brunette or not. The blonde figured it was more chivalrous to actually go up to her door and pick up her date. As she made her way to the door, she carried a single humble flower in her hand. Brittany stopped by the same flower shop as she had before on her way to Santana's house and picked up another white oriental lily; as an actual bouquet was out of the picture. Brittany thought it would be more meaningful if she gave Santana the same flower she had given her before, since the brunette seemed to like it so much.

Soon she was knocking on the door and having déjà vu to the last time she was there. Except this time, Santana didn't open the door in an angry haze after minutes but the brunette opened it after only one knock and with a subtle smile adorning her face.

Santana was possibly wearing the cutest thing Brittany had ever seen her in; a red flow-y blouse with dark pocket jeans, a cute black headband pushing her hair back and large golden hoop earrings. Brittany wasn't sure if it was her make up or not, but her cheeks and specially her lips looked extra puffy and delicious today. Brittany also noticed Santana was using her regular chair again and she guessed the other one was just for work.

"Hey San."

Brittany breathed out in greeting, admiring the beauty of the woman in front of her. But Santana seemed to be unresponsive.

"San?" she tried again, extending the oriental lily towards the brunette in the hopes she would take it.

Santana just stared at her in wonderment. How come Brittany looked so sexy in her blue jacket and was still able to rock a beanie at the same time?

She was snapped out of her haze when Brittany called out her name again. Santana embarrassedly accepted the flower offered to her and cradled it to her chest fondly; she had never considered having a favorite flower but after meeting Brittany, the white lily might just be it.

"You ready to go San?"

"Yeah," Santana moistened her suddenly dry lips, before eyeing the beautiful flower in her hands. "Let me just put this in some water."

She rolled back into her living room after getting a nod from the blonde. She put the single lily in the same vase she had displayed the previous one in until it withered.

"Wanna take my car?" Santana suggested when she reunited with Brittany at the door.

"No no," Brittany said with a shake of her head. "George is all ready to go," she added, smiling brightly. Santana had no idea George was in fact a huge part of their date.

"Where are we going?" she asked rolling towards Brittany's truck, feeling a little uneasy at the prospect of the unknown.

"It's a surprise," Brittany said in a teasing voice, but noticed Santana was a little stiff so she reassured with a real smile. "Don't worry, San. I think you'll like it," and boldly touched Santana's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

She opened the door of the heightened truck for Santana, a fleeting thought crossed Brittany's mind that she was so thankful that George had a perfectly working heater because it was already starting to get chilly; reminiscent of her old apartment.

Santana nervously looked at the high seat in front of her, wondering how she was going to do this. She normally had a special vehicle or lower vehicle so she could sit herself on the seat without anyone's help; she was a fully independent adult after all and didn't normally accept assistance.

"San," Brittany's voice called for her attention. She looked up at the blonde whose cheeks flush red before asking "Can I help you in?" she offered, extending her hand to the brunette. Santana hesitated; she wasn't used to accepting help from others. But it was just Brittany, wasn't' it?

She released a breath and nodded in acceptance, she just wasn't aware of what kind of help Brittany meant, as she extended her own hand to the take Brittany's. She was surprised when all of a sudden in response, she felt herself being lifted off the chair.

"Uph," came out of her lips with the sudden motion.

Brittany had picked her up with the utmost of ease. Her easy smile didn't hide the reddening of her cheeks, though Santana's heart pounded loudly between her ears, the heat overtaking her face as well; she hoped Brittany couldn't hear its powerful beating.

The blonde very gently seated the Santana oh-so-carefully on George's comfortable seat.

"My…" Santana nervously started, reaching automatically for her chair but Brittany interrupted her.

"You won't need your chair," she answered, her smile wider than before.

Something clenched in Santana's chest and her eyes widened, before looking repeatedly between the chair and the blonde. She was skeptical and a tad worried, how could she not need it? She needed the asset every day; in fact it was the one thing Santana couldn't get by without.

Brittany saw the doubt in brown eyes and sensed her apprehensive state and promptly asked "do you trust me, San?"

Even with her uneasiness about the situation, Santana didn't miss a heartbeat in giving her answer.

"Yes."

Brittany smiled happily, more than satisfied with the answer. "Then trust me."

Santana nodded slowly, her own words had surprised her, especially how easily they rolled off her tongue.

Brittany knew it was a lot to ask from the brunette so she gently touched Santana's shoulder again before reassuring her, "but I'll put it in the back just in case, ok?"

Santana smiled shyly to show her appreciation, relief taking over her features. Her heart unclenched at the words, it was like she was feeling some sort of separation anxiety, it had taken her by surprise but Santana understood that it was expectable, since she hadn't been away from her chair since she had gotten out of the hospital so long ago.

Brittany distinguished the way Santana's shoulders relaxed with her statement and smiled back at her; all she wanted was for Santana to feel comfortable after all, she would never want to push her into something she was uncomfortable or ready to do. The blonde leaned down to pick up Santana's chair and the woman almost fell backwards with the momentum.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, staring at the chair in her arms in bewilderment.

Santana couldn't help but let out a light laugh at the blonde's dumbfounded expression.

"It IS really light," Brittany agreed with Santana's statement from the other day. She just had no idea it was this light when the brunette had said so.

"I told you," Santana replied with a smirk, almost cockily before finally explaining. "It's a special kind of metal."

Brittany admired the chair in her hands and easily held the foldable chair up with just one hand as she moved to the back of the truck.

Sitting in the car, Santana took the time to admire the vehicle from inside; it wasn't quite like she had imagined it. Though just looking at it, she could tell it was so Brittany's. She knew the blonde had a special fondness for the vehicle and it definitely showed. It was clearly an older model but it was very well taken care of, and little things such as the ducky keychain, the special air freshener, the red licorice package in the dashboard compartment or even the Taylor Swift cd in the corner made her smile as it hinted at both the cars' and Brittany's personality. Santana could understand how Brittany ended up caring for it to the point of naming her car. She touched the smooth surface of the dashboard and appreciated the subtle smell of cotton candy as she waited for Brittany.

"So where are we going?" Santana enquired when Brittany stepped inside the car. She was feeling oddly comfortable in her seat. Maybe it was Brittany's presence or her scent mixed with the pleasant comforting smell of George's leather, she couldn't be sure but maybe it was all of them combined.

"It's a surprise," Brittany glanced sideways, bringing the car to life and shifting into gear.

"You already said that," Santana insisted, but Brittany could see the subtle grin tugging at her lips.

"Then stop trying to pry, San," Brittany teased back without taking her eyes from the road.

The sound of Santana's sweet chuckle this early on the date was already worth all Brittany's effort to plan this whole evening.

It took about 20 minutes of pleasant conversation between the women for them to arrive. Santana had barely even noticed time passing, but as they slowed their speed, she looked around not recognizing the place but understanding right away what it was as soon as she saw the large scream even from a hundred feet away. She felt all giddy inside, her stomach flipping wildly, but in a sort of pleasant way at Brittany planning something so sweet and thoughtful; the blonde had been true to her words, Santana wouldn't need her chair or even get out of the car if the brunette understood it right.

She couldn't help glance at her left and admire the satisfied grin on Brittany's face as the woman pretended not to throw glances her way every few seconds.

Brittany greeted and paid the guy on a booth and parked her car in a rather central position to see the movie, before turning to Santana. Her heart pounding and face flushing though her smile never faltered as she looked intently into brown. By their matching smiles, Brittany didn't really need to ask if the brunette liked her idea.

"I didn't even know these still existed!" Santana finally broke the silence and their moment as she started looking around the parking lot in amazement.

"What's the movie, Britt?" she asked in wonder and excitement as she turned back to the blonde, hoping Brittany would tell her this time. Santana hadn't been in a drive in cinema in so long, she couldn't even remember the last time. But she had always enjoyed especially if it was an old movie. Whoever was with her never really liked it though because she had always paid more attention to the movie than to the person beside her.

"It's West Side Story," Brittany leaned close to whisper like a secret. The blonde's words set Santana's heart fluttering and she involuntarily shivered, and it had little to do with one of her favorite musicals being displayed tonight.

"C-cool," Santana almost choked out, at the feeling of Brittany's breath on her neck. She took a calming breath as the blonde moved back to her original position. The sudden proximity only added to the warm feeling of Brittany remembering their talk weeks ago about the bruneete liking musicals.

Brittany checked on her robot watch casually. "It's gonna start at seven, so I'm gonna go buy some popcorn for us, ok?"

Santana nodded grateful, her hands still gripping tightly to the leather seat. She would use that time to get a grip and control her feelings because they were currently flying everywhere.

* * *

It was extra chilly today so Brittany had kept the car on so they wouldn't be cold. Though the blonde would just love to cuddle with Santana for warmth, she didn't want to push her boundaries and scare her away.

Sometime into the movie, Brittany was looking forward to each song more than she usually would. At the start of each one, Santana would quietly sing it to herself, probably not even realizing she was doing it; and it seemed she knew every single song. Brittany usually liked these songs but she was enjoying herself much more just listening to Santana's whisper singing; she thought it was just the cutest thing.

When the chords to American started, and Santana whispered with a thick fake accent -

_I like to be in America,_

Brittany giggled to herself as quietly as possible, and she held on the urge to finish the verse with _'For a small fee in America'_; it was one of the few songs that she remembered entirely. The music carried on and even if it was her favorite number of the film, watching Santana was quite entertaining by itself. Then the men started dancing and caught Brittany's attention, the dancing part was her favorite and she just couldn't help wiggling around in her seat and eventually singing along with the part.

_La la la la America!_

Santana startled a bit in surprise, her eyes widening slightly and she looked rather embarrassed at being caught. Brittany grinned at her, no judgment in her eyes, only amusement and excitement. The brunette visibly relaxed, locking eyes with elated blue. She let out a soundless laugh at Brittany lifting her eyebrows to her cue on the song, Santana nodded and quickly joined the blonde in the song.

_Here you are free, and you have pride,_

To which Brittany replied gesturing with her hands and making a funny face.

_Long as you stay on your own side. _

They traded singing the lines back and forth as the actors did in the movie until they laughed too much to keep going. After their laughed subsided, Brittany voiced her initial thoughts.

"You have a really nice voice, San," Brittany smiled nodding to herself. Santana really did have the most amazing voice. She had noticed that from the start but hearing it without the whispering was even better.

"Thanks, Britt," Santana looked down sheepishly, her face flushing for the umpteenth time tonight.

The rest of the movie went on, Brittany didn't know all the songs but she joined Santana whenever she could. As she enjoyed her velvety voice resonating clearly through the car, Brittany's body itched to get closer to her. She bit her lip, wondering if she should inch a little closer or not. The glimmer of light coming from the large screen, bounced off Santana's full lips in a way that just made them even more alluring to the blonde. She had to stop herself from staring at the way they moved because she didn't want to look like a creep or end up tackling the girl.

Santana tried concentrating on the movie as she usually would, but she could feel Brittany's gaze on her. The intensity just pierced through her and flipped her stomach into knots. It's not that it made her uncomfortable, but it was too hard to focus on the serious parts of the film when her face was that heated and heart beating so loudly.

* * *

When the finale played and the credits started, Santana stretched lazily almost forgetting where she was. As a pleasant surprise, the ending didn't even affect her as her and Brittany had spent the last third of the movie talking more than watching. When they stopped their stop and stare game, Brittany casually started a conversation and it just went on from there. Santana didn't think she ever did that during a musical in her entire life. But she was finding herself enjoying these changes more than anything.

Brittany copied the stretching before turning to face the brunette. Santana shifted to look at her with a sad smile. She was actually having so much fun she didn't want the date to end just yet.

"Thank you Brittany. I had a lot of fun," she said genuinely. She couldn't remember the last time she had that much fun, or such a carefree time either with someone or by herself.

"I'm glad, San," Brittany said with her warmest smile, noticing the light change in the girl's mood. "But who said it's over?" she added, her smile turning to a mischievous smirk before winking playfully at the brunette.

Santana was stunned wondering what else Brittany had planned for their date, as the blonde brought the car to life and left the drive-in cinema.

"Britt, where are you taking me?" she watched, entirely puzzled as the landscaped changed to an unfamiliar background.

"That's a surprise!" Brittany repeated her earlier words, clearly satisfied with herself.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Disclamer:** This is a work of fiction and not canon, like at all. And Brittana does not belong to me.

So there its is! The much awaited date! The chapter was getting too big for everything I wanted to show, so I split it in two so you wouldn't have to wait that long for it, and now you guys are gonna get two chapters of the date. That's good news, right?

My beta leeluvzya was quick to edit this so I could publish as fast as possible, thanks lovely!

Thank you to those who took the time to review, you are all amazing and I look forward to each one of them. Thank you! Duck's confession: I get all giddy when I see some of my favorite authors are following the story :D

If anyone is curious about their clothes on the date, and since I'm a crazy perfectionist, check the return to yourself tag on my tumblr for some visuals.

bet-the-ducks-in-the-heya . tumblr tagged/return-to-yourself

Ducks.


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